Israel to reopen Palestinian airport in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (Reuters) -- Israel will reopen the Gaza International Airport on Friday as part of a variety of confidence-building measures meant to bring an end to more than two months of bloodshed, a Palestinian official said.

"The Gaza International Airport will be reopened on Friday morning after a month of Israeli closure," Fayez Zeidan, head of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority, said in a statement released late on Thursday.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the airport would be reopened.

Zeidan said the airport -- which Israel has repeatedly closed during the nine-week-old Palestinian uprising for what it called security reasons -- would operate between nine in the morning and three in the afternoon.

Israel controls security at the airport, which was opened two years ago and viewed by Palestinians as a symbol of burgeoning statehood.

Gun battles between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops have erupted near the airport during the uprising.

The first plane will land at the airport at 0700 GMT on Friday from Amman, Jordan, Zeidan said, adding three take-offs were also scheduled.

But Zeidan pointed out a key road leading from Khan Younis to Gaza City remained closed, preventing passengers from reaching the airport.

He called on Israel to re-open the road and condemned the Jewish state for repeatedly closing the airport.

"It's a part of the overall war launched by Israel against the Palestinian people," Zeidan said.

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