US lawmakers question White House plan to build Gaza port
Palestinians fear the port will be used to forcibly expel Gaza's 2.3 million residents by sea, rather than to deliver aid
US Lawmakers from both major political parties are seeking more information from the White House regarding its plan to build a floating pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, Politico reported on 16 March. Questions include who will provide security for the US soldiers erecting the pier, who will distribute the aid, and whether building the pier is necessary.
“Starving civilians rushing the causeway. Israeli shells hitting American soldiers. Hamas terrorists firing on U.S. military boats. These are the potential scenarios U.S. officials are grappling with after President Joe Biden ordered the military to build a pier to help deliver aid to Gaza,” Politico wrote.
“I’m trying to get more details about the concept of operations,” Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said. “In particular, one of my concerns is security for this operation. Because if the U.S. military is seen to be building and operating it, I think it puts it at greater risk.”
Congressman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama, said it was unclear how the plan would work and whether it would make a difference. The Pentagon estimates it will take up to 60 days to build the port while starvation and famine are quickly spreading in Gaza.
“I’ve been briefed on what they’re doing, but the things nobody can answer are who’s going to provide the security, who’s going to provide the drivers, and who’s going to load and unload stuff?” Rogers said, adding “this is moving really fast and nobody can explain how it’s gonna work.”
According to Politico, the plan involves two parts: a floating pier 5 to 8 kilometers from the shore and a 550-meter floating causeway, which will be anchored to the beach.
Larger ships are expected to unload aid onto the pier. Smaller US boats will then transport the aid to the causeway, where it will be moved to trucks that will distribute it into Gaza.
But it is unclear how the causeway will be anchored to the shore, as US soldiers will be forbidden from setting foot on Gazan soil.
Other US officials say the effort to build the port is redundant, as Morocco has opened a land corridor to deliver aid by truck.
“So if [Morocco’s] going to start rolling trucks in today or tomorrow, like very immediately, then why are we even building this pier?” a US official asked.
Further, a US-based charity, World Central Kitchen, is building a landing jetty in Gaza to receive aid sent this week by ship from Cyprus.
This raises questions about the true purpose of building the pier. Palestinians fear Israel will use it not to deliver aid to Gaza but to forcibly expel the strip’s 2.3 million residents.
On October 17, the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, a think tank close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, published a report echoing a Ministry of Intelligence plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza. The report said, “There is at the moment a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government.”
Egypt has rejected facilitating such a plan, making expelling Palestinians by sea another possible option for Israel, in particular in conjunction with an invasion of Rafah, where over 1 million displaced Gazans are sheltering after fleeing Israeli bombing elsewhere in the strip.