March 12, 2024
The stupid idea of building an 'emergency' sea port in Gaza gets sold as being somewhat in defiance of Israel's genocidal blockade of Gaza:
The details for the pier and causeway plan, President Biden’s latest idea to get around Israel’s blocking of aid deliveries via all but two land crossings, were outlined by the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, in a news conference on Friday.Aid organizations have welcomed the plan, which was announced on Thursday, days after the U.S. military began airdropping supplies into Gaza.
The whole idea of the port is in fact an Israeli one:
The plan for a maritime route to Gaza via Cyprus to provide humanitarian assistance for Palestinians was initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in collaboration with US President Joe Biden, a senior diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday night."Netanyahu took the initiative to establish maritime humanitarian aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, in collaboration with the Biden administration,” the source stated.
According to the source, on October 22, two weeks following the war's outbreak, Netanyahu discussed with President Biden the concept of "delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza via the sea, contingent on an Israeli inspection in Cyprus."
...
Years before the Gaza war, Israel Katz, now the Foreign Minister, had drawn up plans for a maritime route via Cyprus involving a floating island.The project was never executed. But he revived it after the war began on October 7.
Biden is again following Netanyahoo's plans.
The route through Cyprus will allow for a more stringent Israeli control and easier shutoff of all supplies for Gaza. It will allow Israel to shut off all land routes into Gaza while burdening others with the consequences and costs of doing so.
The bigger idea behind this is that Israel will no longer be held responsible for its occupation of Gaza.
Biden could of course easily press Israel to change its behavior and to open all land routes to Gaza. The withholding of all U.S. military and financial support, even for only a week, would do wonders in that regard.
Alas Biden has been a livelong racist and Zionist and is way too old to change his ways.
Posted by b on March 12, 2024 at 14:02 UTC | Permalink