Palestinians open historic first airport

Palestinians open historic first airport

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Agencies): The Gaza International Airport opened on Tuesday with the arrival of inaugural flights from Egypt and Morocco, giving Palestinians a long-awaited economic lifeline and a key symbol of their hoped-for sovereignty.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and an enthusiastic crowd of thousands were on hand to greet the first plane, an Egypt Air Airbus 320 which flew in from Cairo carrying a mix of celebrities, businessmen and government ministers.

Under a bright winter sun, the Egyptian plane was quickly followed by a Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca and aircraft from Austria, Jordan, Germany Spain and Sweden were expected later in the day, all carrying official delegations.

"This is an historic day for the Palestinians and we thank our brothers in Egypt for what they are doing," Arafat said as he greeted Information Minister Safuat al-Sherif and other Egyptian dignitaries at the airport's VIP lounge modeled after the Holy Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem.

Arafat himself was scheduled to use the airport for the first time on Wednesday to fly to Paris. His presidential Boeing 727, which had until now flown out of the neighboring Egyptian town of el-Arish, was due to arrive here later on Tuesday.

Sherif was accompanied by the popular Egyptian film actor Adel Imam, who drew a loud round of applause from the joyful crowd when he emerged, waving, from the airliner.

"We are very happy to be here in Palestine," said Sherif. Some 3,000 people, including several hundred journalists, attended the inaugural ceremony, a joyfully chaotic affair which featured two police marching bands belting out the Palestinian anthem and other nationalist tunes.

Palestinians poured out their joy on Tuesday at the inauguration of their first airport, hailing it as a symbol of statehood and a sign that the peace process with Israel was moving forward.

Crowds of men, women and children, many of whom had never seen a plane on the ground, cheered, danced and sang as nine aircraft flew in from Arab states and Europe to a red carpet welcome from a beaming Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

"There is no state without an airport and our state is Palestine," said Abeer al-Jurf, a 26-year-old Palestinian National Airlines ground stewardess in a trim blue uniform.

One elderly man, dressed in his finest ceremonial wear, galloped a grey horse across the freshly-turfed lawn and was stopped by police just before he could reach the runway.

"God willing, airplanes will fly from this airport carrying pilgrims to Jerusalem," Arafat told reporters in the airport VIP lounge, the roof of which is topped with a golden orb shaped in the style of the Dome of the Rock mosque in the Holy City.

Until now, Arafat has had to be driven to El-Arish in Egypt to fly abroad since his arrival in Gaza in 1994 after the start of limited Palestinian self-rule.

Among the crowd was the U.S. consul-general from Jerusalem, John Herbst, members of the PLO executive committee and the Palestinian legislative council.

Less visible in and around the terminal were about 20 Israeli security agents in civilian clothing led by one uniformed officer charged with ensuring the airport is not used to smuggle weapons into the Palestinian areas.

Fayez Zeidan, the head of the Palestinian Authority's civil aviation administration which has been wrangling with Israel for more than two years over the security conditions for opening the airfield, was visibly moved by the day's events. "I am very happy," he beamed.

Israel finally signed the protocol authorizing the airport's opening on Friday under the terms of last month's Wye River peace accord.

The airport, located at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, was built nearly two years ago but its opening was stalled by disputes with Israel over security at the facility.

An Israeli airliner made a discreet inaugural flight to Gaza International Airport on its opening day on Tuesday, carrying European Union peace envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos from Tel Aviv.

The Dash-8 aircraft of the private Israeli company Aeroel bore no Israeli markings, having been specially painted with the insignia of the European Union for the symbolic flight, a spokesman for the airline told AFP.