The establishment of an alternate international airport \u201cwill create thousands of new jobs, strengthen the local economy, and is part of an expanded process the government is leading to reduce gaps and effectively end the concept of the periphery,\u201d the government statement read on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision was made by the prime minister at the conclusion of a discussion between Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, the interim director-general of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, and senior officials from the Finance, Transportation and Defense ministries,\u201d the joint statement read.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The decision comes years after discussions over the establishment of a new international airport to help offset congestion at Israel\u2019s main gateway, Ben Gurion Airport.<\/p>\n \t According to Hebrew media outlets, Ziklag was dismissed by planning experts in the past due to its proximity to Gaza, as well as its overlap with Air Force and Ben Gurion flight paths, which would worsen congestion at the facility.<\/p>\n Aviation officials told the Haaretz daily in 2025 that the decision to move forward with an airport in Ziklag was driven by political pressure from the ruling Likud party\u2019s officials in southern Israel.<\/p>\n Regev hailed the \u201chistoric decision that strengthens Israel\u2019s skies, economy, and the Negev,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is part of a policy of action and not talk. We are already prepared so that the secondary airport will be established to operate in the most efficient, safe, and advanced manner,\u201d Regev said.<\/p>\n The airport\u2019s establishment \u201cconnects security resilience with economic growth, between developing advanced infrastructure and strengthening the periphery in practice,\u201d Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said.<\/p>\n Cohen noted that seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from the site of the airport, Hamas terrorists carried out the October 7 massacre. Now the area will \u201cprovide quality employment that is essential for the continued prosperity of the Negev, a field that will bring with it an ecosystem that breaks boundaries and changes reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ben Gurion is Israel\u2019s main air gateway with a capacity of 40 million passengers annually. It is nearing its limit, the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee said<\/a> last year, which cited data showing 80 million are expected to pass through the airport by 2050.<\/p>\n \t In 2019, Israel opened Ramon Airport near the Red Sea resort city of Eilat at the country\u2019s southern tip, on the border with Jordan and Egypt. Before the war with Hamas, a number of foreign carriers, such as Ryanair, operated flights from Europe to Ramon.<\/p>\n At present, the airport is being used largely for domestic flights.<\/p>\n In 2024, Air Haifa began operations from the northern city\u2019s airport, initially flying to destinations in Cyprus as well as Ramon Airport, but has now expanded operations to other cities in Europe.<\/p>\n Most international carriers stopped flying to Israel due to the war in Gaza, while the country\u2019s airspace was closed to commercial flights during the 12-day war with Iran in June, but many of them have now resumed flights.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/view-from-ziklag-6228-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tThe view from what is likely the biblical city of Ziklag. (Shmuel Bar-Am)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/F190121YS09-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tThe new Ramon airport, named in memory of Ilan and Asaf Ramon, during the official opening ceremony, near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, on January 21, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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