The construction of the airport was provided for in the
Oslo II Agreement of 1995. The airport was built with funding from Japan, Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Germany and designed by
Moroccan architects (modeled after Casablanca airport) and engineers funded by Morocco's
King Hassan II. The total cost was $86 million. After a year of construction, it opened on 24 November 1998; attendees at the opening ceremony included
Yasser Arafat and US President
Bill Clinton. At the time, the opening of the airport was described as evidence of progress toward Palestinian statehood.
[3] The airport got international airport codes (
IATA:
GZA,
ICAO:
LVGZ). The airport was
twinned with
Mohammed V International Airport, in
Casablanca, Morocco.

Damaged building

Yasser Arafat International Airport

Satellite photo of the runway
The radar station and control tower were destroyed by
Israel Defense Forces aircraft on 4 December 2001, after the start of the
al-Aqsa Intifada. Bulldozers cut the runway apart on 10 January 2002.
[4][5][6] From 2001 to 2006, airport staff still manned the ticket counters and baggage areas,
[6] although no aircraft flew into or out of the airport during that period.
The
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) strongly condemned Israel for the destruction of the airport, which it deemed a violation of the
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation (Montreal Convention, 1971). The ICAO also urged Israel to take measures to restore the facility to allow its reopening.
[4]
Yasser Arafat International Airport - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia