Israel Railways Conducts Soil Tests in Jezreel Valley Ahead of Controversial Airport Project
Secretariats of several settlements in the Jezreel Valley recently received requests from a land appraisal consultant to conduct soil sampling on their lands. Further investigation revealed that the consultant was hired by Israel Railways to perform detailed ground tests in preparation for building a new airport in northern Israel. This development comes amid a long-standing, over 15-year opposition by the Jezreel Valley Regional Council against the airport’s construction.
In February 2026, the Israeli government approved a plan to designate locations for two complementary airports: one in the southern Negev region at Tziklag, and another in the north at Ramat David near the Jezreel Valley. This decision amended a previous resolution that had planned the southern airport at N'veatim, which was changed due to military objections. Despite the council’s persistent resistance to the northern airport, these two sites remain the chosen alternatives.
The budget office and planning administration are advancing both projects simultaneously, but due to high costs, only one airport is expected to be built initially. The Tziklag airport is estimated to cost 7 billion shekels and accommodate 10 million passengers annually, while the Jezreel Valley airport is projected at 10 billion shekels with a capacity of 33 million passengers per year. These figures cover only direct construction costs.
The soil sampling requests were sent to secretariats of Shde Yaakov, Kfar Baruch, and Kfar Yehoshua, settlements near the proposed northern airport site. Representatives of the Jezreel Valley Council claim that parts of these communities would need to be partially evacuated if the airport is constructed. Shlomit Shichor Reichman, head of the regional council, criticized the tests as premature and costly, stating that they are being conducted "under the radar and above our heads" without proper coordination or approval from the council. She emphasized that the southern airport will likely be prioritized due to cost and political considerations, and that the council is actively fighting the northern airport plan.
The council also accused the planning bodies of bypassing official channels by contacting settlements directly, which they view as exploiting residents who may not fully understand the implications. The need for a complementary airport to Ben Gurion Airport has been recognized for over 20 years, especially as Ben Gurion serves as Israel’s sole international civilian airport during wartime. Meanwhile, the Israel Airports Authority is advancing an expansion of Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion to increase capacity from 30 million to about 40 million passengers annually.
Israel Railways responded that soil sampling is a required part of environmental impact assessments mandated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and must be conducted before plan approval. The Planning Administration stated that such tests are standard procedure and that coordination with the regional council has been offered. They suggested that opposition stems from non-technical considerations rather than planning processes.
