Palestine's Airport Ambitions: A Major Hub Or Nonexistent?

Palestine currently does not have a functioning airport within its territory. The closest Palestine has come to having a major airport was with the Yasser Arafat International Airport in the Gaza Strip, which opened in 1998 but ceased operations in 2001 during the Second Intifada. The airport was progressively destroyed by Israeli forces during the Intifada and later conflicts. Since the closure of Yasser Arafat International Airport, there have been proposals to reopen Qalandiya Airport, also known as Jerusalem Airport, and to open Ramon Airport in the Negev for Palestinian travellers. However, these proposals have faced opposition and have not yet come to fruition. As a result, travellers to Palestine typically fly into Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, and then travel to their final destination in Palestine by taxi or bus.

Yasser Arafat International Airport

Palestine does not currently have a functioning airport within its territory. However, in the past, there was the Yasser Arafat International Airport in the Gaza Strip, which was operational for a brief period between 1998 and 2001.

Construction and Opening

The Yasser Arafat International Airport, originally named the Gaza International Airport, was constructed as a result of the Oslo Accords, which outlined the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to build airports in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The airport was funded by Egypt, Spain, and Germany, with Moroccan architects designing the facility. The total cost of construction amounted to US$61 million.

The airport was inaugurated on November 24, 1998, with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat presiding over the ceremony. The opening was considered a significant milestone, symbolizing progress toward Palestinian statehood and collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. The airport served as the base for Palestinian Airlines, which operated the first commercial flight to Amman on December 5, 1998.

Closure and Destruction

The airport ceased operations in 2001 during the Second Intifada, an uprising that began in September 2000. The Israeli military bombed the radar station and bulldozed the runway, expressing fears that the Palestinians would use the airport for smuggling weapons and militants. The airport was progressively destroyed during the Intifada and subsequent conflicts, along with looting.

Renaming and Current Status

In 2005, the airport was renamed Yasser Arafat International Airport in honour of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who passed away in 2004. Despite discussions about reopening the airport, it has remained non-operational. The closest Palestine's West Bank has to an airport is Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, which is a 50-minute taxi or shuttle ride to Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, travellers can continue on to major West Bank cities.

The Oslo Accords

The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli extremist in 1995 due to his signing of the Accords further strained the peace process. This was followed by a series of terrorist attacks by Hamas, which undermined support for the peace process and led to a change in leadership in Israel. Despite efforts by the Clinton administration to mediate and support the negotiations, the Oslo Accords ultimately failed to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinian Airlines

Palestine does not have a functioning airport within its territory. The closest Palestine has come to having a major airport was with the Yasser Arafat International Airport (formerly known as the Gaza International Airport) in the Gaza Strip, which was operational from 1998 until 2001. This airport served as the base of Palestinian Airlines.

In December 2001, Palestinian Airlines was forced to relocate to El Arish International Airport in Egypt, where it operated limited services. The airline stopped its operations in 2005 but resumed limited services in May 2012. In the summer of 2020, a long-term leasing agreement for both of the airline's Fokker 50 aircraft with Niger Airlines ended, worsening its financial situation. As of September 2020, both aircraft were offered for sale. In December 2020, the liquidation of Palestinian Airlines was announced, marking the end of its operations. At the time of its closure, only eight employees remained.

Palestine Airways

Palestine Airways was an airline founded by Zionist Pinhas Rutenberg in British Palestine, in conjunction with the Histadrut and the Jewish Agency. The airline was registered as a private aviation company on 18 December 1934, with assistance from Imperial Airways, whose crew piloted and serviced the aircraft and handled passenger check-in. On 11 August 1937, it commenced commercial flights three times a week to Lydda. This line operated for several months but was discontinued when Arab hostilities worsened, and the danger to passengers travelling from Tel Aviv to Lydda Airport through Arab-majority territory became too great. In 1938, Palestine Airways moved its main base to the newly built Tel Aviv Airport (renamed Sde Dov in 1940) and commenced operations on the Tel Aviv-Haifa route, flying twice daily. From September 1938, the route was extended from Haifa to Beirut. Palestine Airways ceased operations in August 1940 when its aircraft were taken over by the RAF for use in the war effort.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Palestine does not have a functioning airport within its territory. The closest Palestine has come to having a major airport was with the opening of Yasser Arafat International Airport (formerly Gaza International Airport) in 1998. However, the airport ceased operations in 2001 during the Second Intifada and was subsequently destroyed by Israeli forces.

The absence of a Palestinian airport is just one aspect of the complex and ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which centres around land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. The conflict's origins lie in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the emergence of political Zionism and the arrival of Zionist settlers in Palestine. Zionism, a movement founded by Theodor Herzl and other leaders, advocated for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This led to increasing tensions between Jews and Arabs, which escalated into intercommunal conflict.

During this period, the British occupation of the formerly Ottoman region resulted in Mandatory Palestine becoming a British mandate. Despite initially promising support for an independent Arab state in Palestine through the McMahon-Hussein correspondence, Britain later made a secret agreement with France (the Sykes-Picot Agreement) to prevent the formation of such a state. In 1917, the Balfour Declaration, a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, expressed British support for a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. This marked the first recognition by a major international power of Jewish national aspirations and contributed to the end of Ottoman rule in the region.

Tensions continued to rise, leading to an Arab revolt in 1936 that demanded an end to British rule and Zionism. The revolt was suppressed, and the United Nations eventually adopted a partition plan in 1947, triggering a civil war. The 1948 Palestine War resulted in the displacement or expulsion of more than half of the predominantly Palestinian Arab population by Israeli forces. By the war's end, Israel had established itself on most of the former mandate's territory, while the Gaza Strip and West Bank came under Egyptian and Jordanian control, respectively.

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has been occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip, collectively known as the Palestinian territories. This occupation, the longest in modern history, has involved the construction of illegal settlements and the creation of a system of institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians, including the denial of their right of return and violation of their human rights. Two Palestinian uprisings, the first and second intifadas, erupted in 1987 and 2000, respectively, reflecting continued resistance to Israeli occupation.

In recent years, Israel has tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip and isolated it from the West Bank. Despite international consensus supporting a two-state solution along the 1967 borders, Israel has shown a preference for maintaining the occupation and pursuing bilateral negotiations. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel continues to illegally occupy Palestinian territories and that its policies violate international conventions on racial discrimination.

The conflict has resulted in devastating consequences for Palestinian civilians, with frequent reports of Israeli airstrikes causing widespread loss of life and destruction in the Gaza Strip.

Travelling to Palestine

Palestine does not have an airport within its territory. The nearest major airport is Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. As of January 1, 2025, Israel requires an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) for tourists intending to stay for up to 90 days. This can be done on the ETA-IL website.

From Ben Gurion Airport, you can take a taxi or shuttle to Jerusalem, which takes around 50 minutes. From Jerusalem, you can travel to major West Bank cities such as Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ramallah. There is also a bus depot by the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem that can take you to other places in the West Bank, such as Hebron and Bethlehem. Alternatively, you can take a bus to the Arab central bus station in the Musara Area of Palestine and from there, catch a connecting bus to other major Palestinian cities.

Please note that Palestinian ID cardholders cannot travel through Ben Gurion Airport. They must fly to Amman, Jordan, and enter via the Allenby Bridge border crossing near Jericho in the West Bank.

Palestine is a small Middle Eastern country with a lot to offer, including Biblical sites and amazing Christian monasteries. The West Bank, a mountainous and fertile region, is home to many Greek Orthodox monasteries built on important Biblical sites. The three most notable monasteries are Mar Saba, the Monastery of the Temptation, and St George Koziba. The city of Nablus is the second-biggest city in the West Bank, and the village of Taybeh has the largest Christian population and a microbrewery that offers free tours.

Travelling in Palestine can be more expensive than expected, with prices comparable to Greece or Portugal. A non-fast food meal typically costs around $8 to $15, and a bottle of water is almost $1. Palestine is considered a safe place for tourists, and Palestinians are known for their hospitality and friendliness. However, it is recommended to exercise common sense and avoid political displays.

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