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WEKU
WEKU
Greg Myre

The day Gaza got an airport and a presidential visit, fueling dreams of statehood

Gaza Bill Clinton Hamas Hillary Clinton Yasser Arafat Israel Fatah
U.S. President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat inaugurated the Gaza International Airport in 1998 in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. The presidential visit and the launching of the airport were seen as an important steps in the effort to establish a Palestinian state. (Santiago Lyon/AP)

TEL AVIV, Israel — It's hard to fathom today. But once the Gaza Strip was calm enough to host a U.S. president, and Palestinian statehood seemed a real possibility.

The day was Dec. 14, 1998, and the mood was upbeat. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton stood next to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his wife to cut the ribbon inaugurating the Gaza International Airport in the southeast corner of the territory.

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