Derelict Gaza airport becomes racetrack for cars, camels
Gazans have been racing their camels, horses and cars at the abandoned site of what once served as Gaza’s airport.
Gaza International Airport, east of Rafah governorate in the southern Gaza Strip, which once served as the gate of old Palestine and was destroyed in 2001, has been recently turned into a racetrack.
After having been a dump for many years with garbage filling its runway, the airport-turned-racetrack opened its doors to dozens of owners of racehorses, camels and cars from across the Gaza Strip, and to citizens to enjoy the shows and races.
The airport was inaugurated on Nov. 24, 1998, in the presence of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, former US President Bill Clinton and other world leaders.
It was built on an area of 2,800 dunums (692 acres) at a cost of $22 million, with funding from several countries. The airport had been operational for three years, but with the escalation of Al-Aqsa intifada events, Israel closed it permanently on Feb. 13, 2001. Later it was bombed and completely ravaged.
