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The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
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Transportation
as well as grant pilgrims access to the
Galilee, the Sea of Galilee and the Golan.
The airport would be located within close
proximity to the Dead Sea – a unique site
which attracts tourists from all over the
world. After examining various alternatives,
we found a site in Jerusalem that meets the
necessary engineering criteria for a modern
airport. This site rests east of Jerusalem,
in the Gush Etzion and Megillot Regional
Council’s Horkania valley. The Horkania
valley, which is in the Judean desert, stands
up to the criteria for a large airport in
terms of area.
Its width is about 1.5 kilometers, the
length some four kilometers, and is at
sea level. The valley is enclosed from all
sides: at the northern and eastern ends the
surface drops at the cliffs to Dead Sea level
(approximately 400 meters below sea level),
on the western side the cliffs of the Judean
Hills jut out at the height of 800 meters
and more, and to the south there are high
hills. It should be pointed out that in terms
of security, it will be necessary to lower the
hills on the south side of the runways in
some places.
The proposed plan utilizes the entire
area of the valley for the building of the
airport. The airport will include: two
runways, roads connecting them, space
reserved for the parking of the aircraft, an
aviation oil tank farm, an observation and
control tower, a control area including fire
and first aid stations, a passenger terminal
with gates and docking for the planes, a
charging terminal, train station and a large
parking lot.
The Advantages of the Horkania Valley Airport
A possible
capacity of up
to 35 million
travelers a year
Access to large
centers of
population in
Israel
Accessibility for
the Arab residents
of Judea and
Samaria
Accessibility
for Jordanian
tourists
Supports
tourism
development
in metropolitan
Jerusalem
The air traffic control
tower at Ben Gurion, 2015
Transportation
proximity to the city center. This is the
most important consideration in favor of
establishing an airport next to Israel’s most
important destination, Jerusalem, over
other places. The first question that must
be asked is whether, in the mountainous
region adjacent to Jerusalem, there is an
area that fulfills the internationally accepted
topographic criteria for establishing an
airport that can provide the land needed to
serve passengers needing to get to and from
the airport. It is important to emphasize
that the establishment of an airport requires
consolidating national and international
consensus.
The advantage of an airport in
the Jerusalem region would be its
accessibility to those in the most densely
populated areas. It would be accessible to
metropolitan Jerusalem and would serve as
a critical factor in developing international
tourism and pilgrimage to the country’s
capital. Moreover, connecting it with the
national transportation infrastructure by
means of highways and railways would
enable relatively fast access to metropolitan
Tel Aviv, only tens of kilometers from
the airport. Additionally, after establishing
consensus among the local population
(see below), the airport would be more
accessible to the large Arab population of
Judea and Samaria. Lastly, the relatively
close location to the border with Jordan –
our friendly neighbor to the east – would
allow Jordanian citizens to use the airport,
as an attraction for tourists wishing to visit
that country. A speedy connection with the
Valley Road going north and the Aravah
Road going south would also serve some
of the population in the north and south