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Jordan Objects to Israel's Opening of Airport near Red Sea

A general view of the new Ramon International Airport in Timna Valley, north to Eilat, Israel June 13, 2018. (Reuters)
A general view of the new Ramon International Airport in Timna Valley, north to Eilat, Israel June 13, 2018. (Reuters)
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Jordan Objects to Israel's Opening of Airport near Red Sea

A general view of the new Ramon International Airport in Timna Valley, north to Eilat, Israel June 13, 2018. (Reuters)
A general view of the new Ramon International Airport in Timna Valley, north to Eilat, Israel June 13, 2018. (Reuters)

Israel inaugurated on Monday a new international airport in its desert south meant to boost tourism to the nearby Red Sea and serve as an emergency alternative to Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport.

Jordan, however, hit out at the move to open the airport along their shared border, saying it would threaten the Kingdom's airspace.

“Jordan rejects the establishment of the Israeli airport in its current location,” Head of Jordan's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission Haitham Misto said.

He said Jordan had notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of "the Kingdom's strong objection.”

Amman, Misto added, had called on the ICAO to "take all necessary measures to ensure that Israel complies with international standards.”

He said the commission had been in touch with Israel's civil aviation authority and “informed it that the decision to operate the airport should not be taken unilaterally until all outstanding matters are resolved.”

Israel must abide by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation signed by 192 countries, including Jordan and Israel, he stressed.

Initially Ramon Airport will handle only domestic flights, operated by Israeli carriers Arkia and Israir, AFP reported. A date has not yet been given for the start of international flights.

The new airport will replace Eilat’s current airport — used almost exclusively for domestic flights — and the basic airport at Ovda, 60 kilometers north of the city, which receives international traffic, mainly of holidaymakers from Europe.

The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said that the plans for the Ramon project were revised in light of lessons learned during the 2014 Gaza war.

"In an emergency, not only will Israel's entire passenger air fleet be able to land and park there but also additional aircraft," the IAA added.

After a rocket fired from Gaza hit near the perimeter of Ben Gurion airport in 2014, international carriers suspended flights.

Israeli media said that a 26-meter high, 4.5-kilometer long "smart" anti-missile fence has been installed to help protect Ramon, which is adjacent to the border with Jordan.

The IAA refused to comment on those reports.

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Arab World

Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
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Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 

South Lebanon is witnessing an escalating series of military operations, marked by repeated Israeli ground incursions and extensive bulldozing along the border.

The latest incidents have unfolded in the Marjayoun district and around the Wadi Hunin area, where Israeli military vehicles advanced more than 800 meters into Lebanese territory. According to analysts, these moves signal an effort to entrench a security presence that reflects “an advanced strategy to impose a new status quo along the frontier.”

On Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli army bulldozers, protected by tanks stationed nearby, crossed the boundary at Wadi Hunin and moved towards a landfill south of the town of Adaisseh. The forces sealed off a road and erected earthen barriers, prompting heightened alert from the Lebanese side.

Separately, an Israeli patrol breached the withdrawal line in the outskirts of Kfar Shouba - penetrating 400 meters into Lebanese territory - and fired shots at shepherds without causing injuries.

The incursions did not stop there. Residents of Blida also reported a fresh advance of over 800 meters. Meanwhile, Israeli troops detonated a civilian structure in the Ghassouna area east of Adaisseh, using incendiary and stun grenades that sowed panic among local families.

In parallel, Israeli aerial attacks have intensified. On Friday, an Israeli drone struck a car traveling on the Nmeiriyeh–Sharqiyyeh road in Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring five others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed. The attack underscores the widening scope of targets, reaching deeper into southern Lebanon and extending beyond military sites to include civilian vehicles.

Another drone dropped a bomb on a small transport truck in the border town of Kfar Kila, causing material damage but no casualties. Such incidents have become a recurring pattern in the ongoing escalation.

Adding to the strain on civilians, an entire house in Kfar Kila was blown up after being rigged with explosives. In Meiss El Jabal, Israeli forces destroyed a newly renovated tile factory last week, as part of what Israeli spokesmen described as “special operations” targeting weapons depots and infrastructure allegedly tied to Hezbollah in locations including Labouneh and Jabal Balat.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Wednesday that the operations were based on intelligence gathering and surveillance of “Hezbollah’s combat means and terrorist infrastructure.” He added that special units were working to dismantle these networks to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its positions along the border. Adraee also released nighttime video footage showing Israeli infantry operating deep inside southern Lebanon.

A Systematic Effort to Empty the Border

Military analyst Brigadier General Naji Malaeb described these incursions as “part of a systematic plan to reshape the situation on the border.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli ground advances typically coincide with major diplomatic developments - whether a US envoy arriving in Beirut or Israeli delegations traveling to Washington.

“Every time there is a significant diplomatic event, we see coordinated maneuvers - airstrikes, artillery shelling, or limited ground incursions targeting civilian or logistical sites,” Malaeb noted.

He argued that Israel’s consistent pattern of targeting rebuilt homes and small businesses reveals a clear message: preventing displaced residents from returning. “Whenever villagers attempt to repair their homes or revive their livelihoods, the response is immediate,” he said, citing a recent case in Aitaroun where Israeli troops demolished a factory that had been reconstructed inside a residence.

“This is no longer just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty or UN Resolution 1701,” Malaeb concluded. “It has evolved into a deliberate strategy to depopulate the border strip and impose new facts on the ground, creating, in effect, a buffer zone through indirect means.”