Palestinian twins flying high after turning old jet into cafe
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Few Palestinians in the occupied West Bank get to board an airplane these days. The territory has no civilian airport and those who can afford a plane ticket must catch their flights in neighboring Jordan.
But just outside the northern city of Nablus, a pair of twins is offering people the next best thing.
Khamis al-sairafi and brother Ata have converted an old Boeing 707 into a cafe and restaurant for customers to board.
“Ninety-nine percent of Palestinians have never used an airplane. Only our ambassadors, diplomats, ministers and mayors use them. Now they see an airplane and it is something for them,” said Khamis al-sairafi.
After a quarter century of effort, the brothers opened “The Palestinian-jordanian Airline Restaurant and Coffee Shop al-sairafi” last month.
Families, friends and couples turned up for drinks in the cafe situated below the body of the plane. Many others came to take photos inside at a price of five shekels (about $1.50) per person.
For years, the jetliner sat along the side of a major highway in the northern West Bank, providing endless fodder for conversation for passersby baffled by its hulking presence.
The twins’ dream of transforming the airplane into a cafe and restaurant was born in the late 1990s when Khamis saw the derelict aircraft near the northern Israeli city of Safed.
At the time, the plane already had an illustrious history. The aircraft was used by the Israeli government from 1961 to 1993 and flew then-prime Minister Menachem Begin to the United States in 1978 to sign Israel’s historic peace agreement with Egypt, according to Channel 12 TV.
The brothers bought it for $100,000 in 1999. They spent an additional $50,000 for licenses, permits and to transport it to the West Bank.
Khamis said the thenmayor of Nablus, Ghassan
Shakaa, quickly approved the transportation and renovation of the airplane.
But they said their project was put on hold after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in late 2000.
An Israeli military checkpoint was built nearby, they said, preventing customers from the nearby city of Nablus from reaching the site. The project collapsed.
For nearly 20 years, the airplane and the site were abandoned.
After more than a decade of saving, they decided in 2020 to begin rebuilding what they lost, this time starting with the renovation of the airplane. The coronavirus crisis caused further delays.
Following months of work, the aircraft is almost ready for full service. The nose of the plane has been painted with colors of the Palestinian flag and the tail with Jordanian colors.
The cafe is open and the brothers hope to open the restaurant in September.
“God willing, I hope the project works and that it becomes the best it can be,” Ata al-sairafi said.