GAZA (Reuters) – A Qatari envoy overseeing the Gulf state’s humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip said on Monday that he had proposed building an airport in the blockaded Palestinian enclave but had received no response from Israel. “They (Israel) said it would be discussed and they procrastinated … We will renew our request,” Qatari Ambassador Al-Emadi told the Gaza-based news agency SAWA. Cogat, the Israeli government agency that has been coordinating with Qatar on the Gaza aid efforts, declined comment on Al-Emadi’s remarks. Gaza is under the control of Hamas Islamists, who have fought three wars against Israel. In 1998, the Palestinians got their first international airport as a result of the historic peace treaty with Israel, but Israel destroyed its radar antenna and runway a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Source: Egypt Independent December 10, 2018 12:56 UTC