Israeli cabinet approves two new int'l airports

Israel's cabinet approved a plan to simultaneously promote two alternative international airports to Ben Gurion Airport - one in the Negev at Ziklag, and one in the north at Ramat David, Report informs via Globes.

The decision was made despite the position of Minister of Transport Miri Regev and Negev-based deputy minister for AI Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit), who sought promoting Ziklag first. According to them, the planning progress of the airport in Ramat David could lead to the project in the north being built first, leaving the southern airport behind for many years.

The approval comes after a vote on the decision was postponed last week following a dispute between the Ministries of Finance and Transport over the wording of the proposal. The original wording did not explicitly state that the southern airport would be built in Ziklag. The proposal now passed by the cabinet includes explicit mention of Ziklag as the southern alternative, alongside continued planning promotion in Ramat David.

In a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, Regev and Cohen, announced that planning for the airport in the south would be accelerated until the status was equal to Ramat David, to promote the construction of the two alternative international airports.