Jerusalem Governorate: Laying The Foundation Stone For The So-Called “Heritage Center” At Jerusalem International Airport Reinforces The Annexation Project And Targets The City’s Identity.

The Jerusalem Governorate considered that the laying of the foundation stone for the so-called “Heritage Center” at the site of the historic Jerusalem International Airport in the town of Qalandia, north of occupied Jerusalem, by the war criminal, Israeli enemy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, constitutes a dangerous escalation in the settlement project.

The governorate stated in a statement on Sunday that this escalation constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, foremost among them Security Council Resolution No. (2334), which affirms the illegality of settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including occupied Jerusalem.

The governorate confirmed in its statement that this step represents a shift from the planning stage to imposing facts on the ground, within the framework of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at reshaping the geographical and historical identity of Jerusalem, by seizing one of the most prominent Palestinian sovereign landmarks and turning it into a facility that serves the Israeli narrative and perpetuates the illegal annexation project.

She explained that the project comes as part of a series of decisions taken by the Israeli enemy government on May 17, on the occasion of what is called “Jerusalem Day”, and aims to expand and deepen the settlement project inside the city, including turning the Jerusalem International Airport building into a center of a cultural and ideological character that rewrites the historical narrative of the site according to the Israeli narrative.

She added that the project goes beyond reusing the building, to include reproducing the historical narrative of the place by allocating spaces to promote what is called the “history of settlement,” and linking the site to Israeli political and military figures, in an attempt to erase the Palestinian and Arab memory associated with the airport as one of the symbols of Palestinian sovereignty.

The governorate pointed out that this project coincides with a broad settlement escalation north of Jerusalem, which includes the establishment of a waste treatment facility on Qalandiya lands, threatening the confiscation of hundreds of dunams and the isolation or displacement of dozens of Palestinian families, in addition to promoting the “Atarot” settlement neighborhood project, which aims to establish thousands of settlement units.

She argued that these projects constitute an integrated system for redrawing the geographical reality of Jerusalem, by strengthening communication between settlement blocs, in contrast to fragmenting the Palestinian geographical extension, especially in the north of the city, thus preventing any Palestinian urban or demographic continuity.

She stressed that Israeli policies also aim to undermine Palestinian symbols of sovereignty, most notably Jerusalem International Airport, which represents one of the most prominent landmarks of future Palestinian sovereignty, and to replace it with settlement facilities that serve the “Greater Jerusalem” project and link the city to a wide settlement extension.

The governorate warned that these measures are part of an integrated political project aimed at imposing final facts on the ground, through settlement expansion, land confiscation and changing the demographic composition.

She called on the international community to take urgent and effective action to stop these policies, stressing that their continuation constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and relevant United Nations resolutions, and that international silence regarding them perpetuates the policy of imposing a fait accompli and gives the occupation cover to continue changing the identity of occupied Jerusalem.