The demise of the Middle East peace process is reflected in events surrounding the Palestinian drive to establish its own air transport infrastructure, which illustrate clearly the problems Israelis and Palestinians are facing as they attempt to coexist.
On the surface plans for a Palestinian airline are progressing, after Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority unveiled plans to start operations in May. And it has international support, both from Iata and the Dutch government, which has donated two 50 seater aircraft to service a shuttle run between Gaza and Jericho.
But beneath the surface things are not looking good. To the Israelis, the Palestinians' desire for an airline has come to symbolise all that is wrong with the peace process.
Since the process began, it was clear that the Palestinians coveted the Jerusalem Airport at Atarot near Ramallah. In January Israel handed Ramallah over to Palestinian authority, and within days aircraft landing at the airport came under machine gun fire.
But the most dangerous confrontation of the process centres on plans to build an airport on the western border of the Gaza Strip. According to the Oslo Accord, a Palestinian airport must be built on land shared by both parties, so Israel can impose its own security. In mid-February, the workers began bulldozing a runway within Gaza, entirely on Palestinian territory. In response, the Israeli army sent a platoon of soldiers to stop the bulldozers. In turn, the soldiers were surrounded by 300 Palestinian policemen. A tragedy was averted only when it became clear to the Palestinians that the incident was being filmed.
Moreover, the Israeli military is objecting to the Jericho-Gaza shuttle because it crosses the training and operational airspace of the air force base at Lel Nof. Should the right-wing Likud party win the Israeli elections in May, it will at best spell the end for Palestinian air transport plans and at worst doom the whole peace process.
Relations with neighbouring Jordan, however, may yet survive a right-wing victory as the Likud leadership has held meetings with Jordan over the past year, and agreed not to oppose the peace accord between the two countries. This should ensure a return for Jordan on its $85 million airport expansion plan.
Barry Chamish
Source: Airline Business
