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Any day now, as soon as Israel gives the word, the doors to Gaza International Airport will swing open, an inaugural flight carrying Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat will touch down, and Palestinians will mark another significant milestone in the peace process.
The opening of the $70-million airport, one of a series of steps to be carried out during the first phase of the new U.S.-brokered peace deal, could come as early as Friday, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Already, Palestinian flags and poster-sized photos of Arafat are in place atop the airport's cream-colored control tower, ready to greet the leader in festive style. But climb the narrow, winding stairway to the tower's windowed control center, and it's clear that not all is quite ready for business at Gaza International.
From the gleaming white floor to the matching white ceiling, the room destined to be the airport's nerve center stands empty. Its state-of-the-art air traffic and radar equipment is stuck at an Israeli port while the Palestinians figure out how to pay $644,000 in customs and storage fees; its furniture has yet to arrive from Germany.
No matter, says the not-to-be-defeated chairman of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority.
"We are ready for operation immediately, from sunrise to sunset," said Chairman Fayez Zaidan, who is expected to sign the airport's protocol with Israel today and clear the way for the opening. "We are waiting for this day."
Set on 1,100 flat, dusty acres...