Jerusalem: The Israeli government is set to approve next week the construction of a Jewish heritage center on the grounds of the abandoned Jerusalem International Airport in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported Thursday.

According to Anadolu Agency, Channel 7 said the government will meet next week to approve a proposal by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu to establish the center in the city's northern part. Before Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, Jerusalem International Airport served as the only airport in the territory. Israel later seized the airport, converted it into a limited domestic airport before shutting it down completely in 2000.

The airport was established in 1920, while British Mandate authorities began using it in 1924. It officially opened to regular flights in 1936. Channel 7 said the abandoned airport buildings, including the historic passenger terminal, would be restored and transformed into a heritage center highlighting Jerusalem's role in regional air transport.

The report said the project would cost 3 million shekels (about $1 million), funded through the Heritage Ministry's approved 2026 budget. The Israeli government had previously approved plans to establish an illegal settlement with 9,000 housing units on the airport's land.

Palestinians say Israel has intensified efforts for decades, particularly through settlement expansion and displacement policies, to Judaize occupied East Jerusalem and erase its Arab and Islamic identity. The international community and the UN consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, an occupied Palestinian territory and view Israeli settlements there illegal under international law.