In a briefing on Oct. 21, Al Kurunz said the airport would require eight
square kilometers of land, Middle East Newsline reported. He said the airport, with freight and passenger
facilities, would be planned and constructed in accordance with
international standards.
Officials said the PA has estimated the airport project at $340 million.
They said the facility, located in Obadiya, would represent a key element in
the PA's quest for statehood by 2012.
"An airport means sovereignty, freedom, progress and economic
development," Al Kurunz said.
This would mark the first PA airport in the West Bank. Until 2000, the
PA operated an airport in the southern Gaza Strip, destroyed by Israel in
their war.
Officials said the PA has begun training staff, including pilots, for
the airport. They said several European Union countries have pledged to
finance the project.
The PA said it planned to build the airport in so-called Area C of the
West Bank. Under an agreement in 1994, Area C was reserved for full Israeli
control.
"We did not ask and will not ask permission from Israel, and we will not
wait until an independent Palestinian state has been declared to start the
construction of the airport," Al Kurunz said.
Officials said Israel has pledged to transfer the abandoned airport at
Kalandia to the PA. They said the PA would use the northern Jerusalem
airport, surrounded by Palestinian homes, as headquarters for the PA Civil
Aviation Department as well as the landing strip for helicopters.
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