RAMALLAH, West Bank, 12 April 2008 — Israel agreed to hand over the Atarot (Qalandia) Airport in northern Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Israeli Hebrew daily Kol HaZman reported yesterday.

The newspaper quoted senior officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that the deal was reached during ongoing secret talks between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qorei. According to Kol HaZman, the transfer of Atarot is an Israeli gesture to strengthen Fatah and moderates in the West Bank as against Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip. The report said that Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski is strongly against the transfer of Atarot to PA. His aides said he was “astonished” to hear of the secret agreement.

“It is inconceivable,” the mayor reportedly said, “that while Israeli flights from Atarot have been stopped because of security fears, the threat will now become even more severe, with control of the entire area being given over to the PA.” He warned of the dangers of “hostile airplanes” being in the skies of Jerusalem.

Lupoliansky promises he will work even harder to advance his plan to build 10,000 housing units for Jews in Atarot, hoping to thus thwart the plan of handing over the airport to the PA. Jerusalem Municipality officials said the agreement to give away Atarot represents a de facto recognition of the division of Jerusalem.

Roadblock Removal Insignificant: UN

Israel, which faces US pressure to ease life for the Palestinians, has removed 44 roadblocks in the occupied West Bank, but most of them were of little or no significance, a UN agency said yesterday.

The Israeli Army claimed it removed 61 traffic obstacles, but that figure is disputed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which said that only 44 were actually removed.