The Palestinian Authority is hoping to build a sparkling new four-square-kilometer international airport in Jericho, despite the fact that the site is categorized as Area C – under total Israeli control. A groundbreaking ceremony for a new industrial park -- unauthorized -- was held Monday as well.
Plans for the airport facility, which includes one terminal and six gates for boarding, a large parking lot and international facilities, were submitted to Israel along with a request for a building permit, according to the Hebrew-language Ma’ariv newspaper.
Jericho, currently administered by the PA, is located in the Jordan Valley just north of the Dead Sea. This week residents celebrated its 10,000 anniversary, but little mention was made of its beautiful ancient synagogues that have been badly damaged by Arab vandals.
Associated Press writer Karin Laub, however, did not hesitate to instead define the area as a “potential obstacle to Mideast peace.” In an October 12 article headlined “Jordan Valley joins list of peace obstacles,” Laub writes, “The strategic strip of land abutting Jordan would be an essential part of a future Palestinian state.”
Her complaint: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is unwilling to hand over the area without taking steps to “keep out weapons and block any Arab invasion from the east.” The area, which the PA has demanded to become part of any future country it creates, is home to at least 9,000 Jews, as well as some 56,000 PA Arabs.
Earlier this week, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad launched a project to build a new industrial park in the area, controlled by Israel, even though no building permits were secured from Jerusalem for the construction. Mohammed Thekri, a PA engineer involved in the project told Laub, “If we do nothing, until we get approval from the Israelis, it maybe will take another 10 years,” so the PA simply went ahead without the authorizations.
“Israel’s capricious control regime has limited very much the scope for development in the very important part of our country,” Fayyad told the AP.