24-nov-1998_A_Palestinian_guard_of_honor_welcomes_members_of_the_Egyptian_delegation_at_Gazas_International_Airport_on_Tuesday.jpg

24-nov-1998_An_Egypt_Air_Bus_Taxis.jpg An Egypt Air Airbus A320 taxis behind a Palestinian military honor guard as the first flight into the Gaza International Airport lands. The airport's opening was delayed 20 months. It was built at a cost of $250 million. Photo 24-nov-1998

24-nov-1998_Arafat_arrived_on_his_presidential_jet_to_inaugurate_the_Gaza_Internationa_Airport.jpg Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat greeted the plane, the first to arrive for the festivities at the $250 million airport, which Palestinians see as a commercial lifeline and a symbol of the sovereignty they seek.Photo 24-nov-1998

24-nov-1998_gaza_airport_tower.jpg The airport offers a lifeline to the outside world. Photo 24-nov-1998

24-nov-1998_Mr_Arafat_will_be_there_to_meet_the_first_arrivals.jpg Disagreement over the scope of Israel's authority has held up the airport's opening. Yasser Arafat, will be sure to seize on Tuesday's event as further proof of the inevitability of Palestinian statehood. Date of photo unknown.

24-nov-1998_The_airport_has_been_ready_for_a_year.jpg For a narrow overcrowded and impoverished strip of land, hemmed in by Israeli and Egyptian rules and regulations, an airport offers a lifeline to the outside world.Photo 24-nov-1998

30-nov-1998_opening_of_gaza_airport.jpg The opening of Gaza's Rafah airport last week was a moment of Palestinian pride. Photo 24-Nov-1998.