The private airplane of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was the first to land in the Palestinian airport in the Gaza Strip opened this week.
On Sunday, the pilot of the plane – the flight originated in Egypt – waved a Palestinian flag from the cockpit as the plane touched down on the runway.
“It’s one of the most important projects, and this shows how we are moving to implement the peace process,” said Arafat, who was present for the inauguration of the airport.
The opening of the airport was delayed as Israeli and Palestinian officials worked out final arrangements for security control and operations.
Ultimately, the differences were resolved by giving the airport a special status, enabling Israel to maintain overall security responsibility without infringing upon Palestinian self-rule.
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