Israel Moves to Build 9,000 Homes at Qalandiya Airport, Raising Fears for East Jerusalem’s Future

Israeli authorities plan a major settlement expansion at Qalandiya airport in occupied East Jerusalem, critics warn it threatens Palestinian territorial continuity.

Israeli authorities are planning to proceed with plans to construct nine thousand new housing units as part of settlement expansion in an illegal settlement on the site of the abandoned Qalandiya airport in occupied East Jerusalem, with the aim to isolate Palestinian lands from one another and prevent the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.

According to a statement from the Jerusalem governorate, the Israeli occupation authorities are attempting to implement a risky israel settlement expansion plan on the property of Jerusalem International Airport and nearby areas.

The project considered a direct threat to geographical and demographic links between Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah. According to Israeli group Peace Now, the District Planning and Building Committee will debate and approve the plans for the known Atarot neighborhood in northern East Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Building an israel expansion enclave in a place where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians reside nearby has been shown to further the aim of obstructing development in a crucial area and compromise the possibility of the development of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Thousands of illegal Israeli homes would be built in the occupied West Bank under the internationally denounced E1 settlement plan, which is similar to this plan. Israel's security cabinet approved plans to formally build 19 illegal expanding settlements throughout the West Bank last week.

The project was one of several East Jerusalem settlement plans that were put on hold under Barack Obama's administration, but it has gained traction since Donald Trump took office.

The project is a direct violation of international rule, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention and numerous UN resolutions that state israel settlement expansion in occupied territory is illegal. The Jerusalem Governorate has specified that it will bring up the matter with human rights organizations and the international community.