Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor) has floated the idea of reopening the airport in the Atarot area of Jerusalem instead of constructing the new neighborhood there which was approved by the Jerusalem municipality.

The committee set up by Minister Michaeli to examine alternatives to building a civilian airport in Ramat David appealed to Adv. Shlomi Heisler, chairman of the National Planning Headquarters, to postpone next week's hearing in the Jerusalem District Committee for approval of the building fo the neighborhood in the abandoned Atarot airport complex, Yediot Aharonot reported.

A senior official in the Transportation Ministry stated that there is an intention to examine the reopening of the Atarot airport as the only option for an international airport in the Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria area that could serve both Israelis and Palestinian Arabs.

According to Minister Merav Michaeli, the renewal of activity at the Atarot airport is different from Jewish construction across the Green Line, because it can serve as a negotiating chip against the Palestinian Authority.