Summary
- Yasser Arafat borrowed planes for his diplomatic missions supporting the Palestinian cause.
- Arafat eventually took ownership of his own jet.
- His successor, Mahmoud Abbas has also acquired a private jet, subjected to criticism from Israeli media.
Air Force One
brings to mind a Boeing 747-200B aircraft, adorned with an iconic “United States of America” text, complemented by a sky blue surrounding the cockpit and a green-like turquoise on the bottom part of the fuselage and engines. Indeed, Air Force One refers to any United States Air Force aircraft “equipped to transport the Commander-in-Chief,” per the White House.
Photo: Karolis Kavolelis | Shutterstock
Yet, not all presidents’ transports are as recognizable. In the case of former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, his planes were much smaller and almost invisible – not because they were transparent, but rather because little is known about them.
Despite this, Yasser Arafat’s aviation diplomacy was essential to bringing attention to the Palestinian cause. In addition, insights from this particular sector of his politics can also provide a better understanding of the current situation in the Middle East.
This article is partly based on a study published by Chin-Chin Yap in 2023, shedding light on the importance of Yasser Arafat’s aviation diplomacy and its “central role in discourses of nationalism, mobility, and globalization.”
Who was Yasser Arafat?
Yasser Arafat was a controversial figure in the Palestinian liberation movement, succeeded by the incumbent Chairman of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas. The PLO acts as the globally recognized government of the State of Palestine, which is considered as such by the majority of United Nations member states.
Arafat is still an important figure for Palestinian nationalism today. In 2017, Abbas said (per Al Jazeera),
“Even though Arafat is gone in body, he still lives among us in spirit.”
On the other hand, some view him as a “manipulative terrorist and authoritarian leader.” However, he was undoubtedly an important figure in Palestinian nationalism.
Borrowing planes
Yasser Arafat ran the PLO and lived in exile in various Arab countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia. His positioning outside of Palestine meant access to an aircraft was particularly important. Over the years, Arafat has used several borrowed or donated planes as a means of transport.
Arafat garnered support for the Palestinian cause by traveling and reaffirming its importance worldwide. A New York Times piece published in 1992 noted that the PLO leader “spends close to 80 percent of his time flying from one country to another” as part of his “own brand of personal diplomacy.”
Instead of using his own jet, Alan Hart writes in his biography of Arafat that other Arab states provided aircraft on an as-needed basis. Evidence for this can be found in Western media.
In TD. Allman’s 1989 piece for Vanity Fair, the author was invited by Arafat onboard his plane on a trip departing Tunis (Tunisia) for Algiers (Algeria) via Fez (Morocco) and Nouakchott (Mauritania).
Allman writes that the aircraft – its registration and type unknown – was a charter service operated by a Tunisian crew. He states:
“But Arafat frequently is lent aircraft by various “friendly” governments.”
This includes aircraft from Saudi Arabia and Algeria, of which very little is known. Another interesting aircraft Arafat used was a Boeing 707 chartered by the Royal Moroccan Air Force, which Kim Murphy documented in a report for the Los Angeles Times in 1993.
The private jet
It is also widely reported that Arafat eventually had his own private jet, registered first in Iraq and then in Algeria as a gift from the revolutionary, dictator, and fifth Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein.
Hussein, in support of the Palestinian cause, donated what is understood to be a Lockheed Martin Jetstar II airframe, registered (at its retirement in 2018) HB-JGK. Before that, Simple Flying understands it operated as 7T-VHP. It flew for Arafat from 1989 until his death in November 2004, when it was transferred to Geneva, where it remained until it was dismantled in 2018.
The aircraft was barely 10 years of age when it came into the hands of the Palestinian leader. Initially, it flew for Iraqi Airways before being repainted in Air Algérie colors to operate for Arafat. This was because Palestine was not recognized as an official state (and is still not recognized as such by a minority of the 193 UN member states). In turn, Algeria agreed to pay insurance and maintenance costs. The plane was later repainted in Palestinian colors.
Check out the images below of the aircraft in question, showing its various lives from 1994 to 2018. Initially in Air Algérie colors, it was later repainted into Palestinian colors before coming into the hands of an unknown owner under the registration OD-KMI. It was refurbished and repainted and was purchased by Dynacore S.A. in 2008, with whom it remained grounded until its dismantling in 2018.
Arafat’s use of his new jet was extravagant. Operating as Palestinian001, the plane’s record was 55 countries in just 20 days, according to RTS. The report underlines Arafat’s commitment to obtaining support for and raising awareness of the Palestinian cause, largely culminating (but not ending) with the Oslo Accords in 1993. In 2018, at 39 years of age, the plane was dismantled.
Abbas and his BBJ
Arafat’s successor, Abbas, purchased a government jet in 2018. The aircraft reportedly cost approximately $50m. The aircraft was the source of much controversy as Israeli media noted an alleged hypocrisy between the purchase of the jet described as “a new luxurious $50 million private jet” by The Times of Israel while Palestinians suffer in beyond difficult living conditions. The report ended with the following:
“Israel’s prime minister does not have and has never had a private plane.”
Responses to the comments in Israeli media were equally negative. They noted that Israel’s national airline, El Al Israel, flies to more than 50 destinations worldwide giving politicians the possibility to travel commercially. Israel bulldozed Palestine’s only remaining airport, Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza, back in 2002 during the Second Intifada, meaning both leisure and diplomatic trips from the airport directly were made impossible.
As a result, national carrier Palestinian Airlines was forced to return to its initial base in Egypt, operating from El-Arish International Airport in North Sinai. The airline has since been liquidated due to financial difficulties and a bleak future outlook.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously did not have a private plane, he had spent $127,000 in 2013 retrofitting an El Al aircraft with a double bed for a single return trip to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral in London, per The Times of Israel. In September last year, a retrofitted Boeing 767 known as the “Wing of Zion” was delivered to Israel for use by the country’s leaders. It cost $202 million.
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The controversial “Wing of Zion” will enter into service in November ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference.
Abbas’ controversial plane, a Boeing 737-700BBJ, was initially B-5286 and has now been registered in San Marino as T7-PAL. The aircraft is based in Amman, Jordan.
Below are the plane’s recent flights, per data from Flightradar24:
- Riyadh (RUH) from April 27-29 for a meeting with international and regional leaders per Reuters
- Algiers (ALG) from April 13-14 for an official visit per Le Corrier d’Algérie
- Abu Dhabi (AZI) from March 13-14 for the funeral of UAE’s president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan per WAFA News Agency
A traveled man
Yasser Arafat’s travels by plane allowed him to make headlines in Western media in an attempt to demonstrate his efforts for the Palestinian cause. Depictions of him working, sleeping, and praying on the plane all served to humanize him.
His aviation journeys have not been sufficiently documented to know which aircraft he flew, with which crew he did so, and at what point in time the journeys happened. One thing is clear, though: Arafat traveled the world in many different and interesting aircraft types.