The Jerusalem Governorate has warned of an Israeli plan to establish a settlement-linked heritage centre at the site of the former Jerusalem International Airport in Qalandiya.
According to a statement carried by WAFA, the project is expected to receive approval from the Israeli government and was initiated by Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.
The governorate said the initiative coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Entebbe military operation carried out by Israel in Uganda.
The proposed project would convert the airport’s historic reception building—originally constructed during the British Mandate period in 1920 and later expanded under Jordanian administration—into what Israeli authorities describe as a heritage, tourism and educational centre.
The governorate said the centre would promote the Israeli narrative regarding Jerusalem and settlement history in the Atarot area, which it noted was built on Palestinian land.
According to the statement, the plan also includes a section commemorating Yoni Netanyahu, the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed during the Entebbe raid in 1976.
Jerusalem International Airport served as the only airport in the occupied West Bank before Israel occupied the territory in 1967. Israel later converted it for limited domestic use before shutting it down permanently in 2000.
READ: Israel to build Jewish heritage center at abandoned Palestinian airport in occupied East Jerusalem: Report
