Jerusalem’s local planning committee decided Nov. 24 to authorize an old plan to build the Atarot neighborhood in north Jerusalem. The new residential neighborhood would be located at the site of the abandoned Atarot airport, with an area of 1,243 dunams (307 acres), and would consist of 1,000 housing units, in addition to hotels, public buildings, public open land, and industrial and commercial zones. The plan also suggests creating a zone for industry and commerce adjacent to Route 45, and maintaining the historic terminal building that still stands in the area of the Atarot airport. 

This is a plan that was formulated years ago, but each time it was brought to a vote, the vote was postponed because of American opposition. The reason for the opposition is that this is territory located on the other side of the Green Line, in an area between Jerusalem and Palestinian villages. 

The last time the plan was brought to a vote, it was then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who prevented its discussion, in response to a direct request from the Trump administration. In the “deal of the century” formulated by former President Donald Trump and his son-in-law/White House adviser Jared Kushner, this area was actually intended for a Palestinian tourism zone. 

The city of Jerusalem suffers from a serious shortage of housing, for all sectors, especially the ultra-Orthodox and the Arab sectors, and the Atarot area in the north is considered one of the land reserves that could be used to solve this problem. The place was the site of a Jewish village that was established in 1919. It was destroyed during the 1948 War of Independence, and conquered by Jordanian and Palestinian forces from the region. In the Six-Day War it was reconquered and incorporated into the municipal territory of Jerusalem. On part of it an industrial area was established, which is a source of employment for many Palestinians from the Ramallah area, and in another part the new neighborhood is planned.