Assem Salem, the Palestinian Minister of Transportation, called on the International Civil Aviation Organization on Saturday to act to prevent the building of an Israeli colony at Qalandia Airport in the occupied territory of Jerusalem.

The plan to build nearly 9,000 dwellings for Israeli colonists in that airport, which was closed by the Israeli army two decades ago, is a new provocation, according to Salem in a statement.

According to this authority, the plan of demolishing Palestinian buildings in the West Bank and the so-called Holy City amounts to ethnic cleansing.

He emphasized that the Qalandia Airport, which was built in 1924, is one of the oldest in the Middle East and hence a symbol of Palestine's sovereignty.

The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem has accelerated the construction of those houses this week.

The 124-hectare former airport would be transformed into a new town, complete with parks, hotels, governmental buildings, commercial areas, and housing for Israelis.