Israel plans large settlement at shuttered Jerusalem airport

By JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is moving ahead with plans to build a massive Jewish settlement on the site of a long-abandoned airport. The Palestinians had hoped the airport would one day service their future capital in east Jerusalem. It’s one of several settlement projects that are advancing despite criticism from the Biden administration, which along with the Palestinians and the international community views the settlements as an obstacle to peace. The anti-settlement group Peace Now says the Atarot settlement would include 9,000 homes marketed to ultra-Orthodox Jews, a “small city” of some 50,000 amid densely populated Palestinian communities. Israeli officials say the homes are needed to keep pace with a fast-growing population.