An airplane-shaped guesthouse would draw attention anywhere in the world. But in the West Bank—where there are no airports—The creation of one Minwar Harsha'a helps flight dreams take off.
“So many children want to come,” said 27-year-old Harsha'a, who built the guesthouse in the hills of the northern West Bank, facing the separation barrier between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"The idea was simple," he explained in an interview with AFP. "Since we don't have planes or airports, people come here instead." Harsha'a personally designed the concrete structure, which includes a double bedroom in the cockpit and a children’s room in the tail.
The price, between $300 and $600 per night, is beyond reach for most Palestinians—especially given the soaring unemployment caused by the war in Gaza. Still, Harsha'a says the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, even if early responses were skeptical.
“I wanted to bring something unique, something new to the area and to Palestine,” he said of the unit, which opened about a month ago. Since then, the red-and-white concrete “plane” has become a local landmark, gaining attention in both traditional media and on social platforms.
Originally, Harsha'a considered placing a Palestinian flag on the chalet and naming it “The Palestinian Queen,” but ultimately avoided such symbols out of caution.
The guesthouse sits in Area C of the West Bank—a region that accounts for over 60% of the territory and remains under full Israeli control. “I just made it look like a plane,” Harsha'a said. “I stayed away from politics entirely because of the hardships our people face. We are a people constantly losing things—our land, our rights, our lives.”
Though no active airport exists in Palestinian territories today, both the West Bank and Gaza once had terminals: one in East Jerusalem, and another in Rafah in southern Gaza. Both were shut down during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. What remains of the East Jerusalem airport is now cut off from the rest of the West Bank by Israel’s separation barrier.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
“Next year we’ll build a ship—something beautiful and unique,” Harsha'a said, undeterred by obstacles and demolition threats. Standing beside two of his brothers who helped him build the unit, he encouraged others to act on their dreams. “I urge anyone with land to work it, invest in it—with creativity and ambition.”
Harsha'a has more plans for the land he owns. “After this airplane, next year we’ll build a ship. It’ll be a special, beautiful creation,” he said. While many in the West Bank have seen planes fly overhead, he added, most have never seen a real ship—since the region has no access to the sea.