An ambitious plan to improve the situation in the Gaza Strip by building an artificial island off its coast was not discussed.
BY HERB KEINON, TOVAH LAZAROFF, JPOST, JUNE 11, 2018
The sun sets over the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border May 15, 2018. (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The much touted security cabinet meeting on Gaza, the first such discussion in months, ended without any operative decisions on how best to address the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The ministers discussed various plans, such as Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz’s idea of building a port in Cyprus, and Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant proposed industrial zone.
Earlier in the day Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told Army Radio that the key to resolving the Gaza crisis “lies not in the cabinet but in the Mukata in Ramallah” and with the United Nations.
He blamed harsh measures that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has taken during the last year for fueling the Gaza crisis. The 2 million residents there are living on only two to four hours of electricity a day, in part because of the PA’s refusal to pay for the electricity and heavy fines it has imposed on fuel for the generator.
Plans to rehabilitate Gaza, Liberman said, will not bring an end to the violence and terrorism from the Hamas-controlled Strip.
The security cabinet discussion came against the background of two months of massive Hamas-organized marches toward the security fence, and a flurry of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza some 10 days ago.
Before the meeting, Transportation Minister Israel Katz said that “the State of Israel has run into an unreasonable situation in Gaza. On the one hand, we are dealing with short-term proposals for civilian assistance because of the humanitarian crisis, instead of exerting significant practical pressure to restore the bodies of the captured IDF soldiers. And on the other hand, we refrain from making decisions on correct strategic solutions for the long term.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett agreed, telling reporters that Israel should make efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza only in exchange for the bodies of the soldiers and the release of the two Israeli citizens being held in Gaza.
“Humanitarian [gestures] for humanitarian [gestures],” he said. “There are no free lunches.”
An ambitious plan to improve the situation in the Gaza Strip by building an artificial island off its coast was not discussed at the security cabinet Sunday afternoon because of a long-standing dispute over the plan between its initiator, Katz, and Liberman.
Katz – a member of the security cabinet – said he removed the issue from the discussions because of “substantive differences on the matter” with Liberman. Under this plan, the artificial island would contain major infrastructure projects for Gaza’s residents.
Katz’s artificial-island plan, which he has been pushing for more than a year, would have a 2 km. by 4 km. artificial island built 4.5 km. off the Gaza coast that would be linked by a bridge to Gaza, and would include a port as well as desalination and power plants that would serve the coastal Strip. It would also give the Palestinians an outlet to the world.
According to Katz’s plan, Gaza’s exports and imports would go via the island, which would be under the security control of NATO or another international body that would search the cargo going in and out of the Strip. Israel has adamantly opposed opening a harbor or airport in Gaza because of security concerns.
The island, according to the plan, would cost between $5b. and $10b., and take some six years to construct.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the AJC Global Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority would have money to spend on Gaza if it hadn’t invested it in payments to terrorists.
“Imagine what would happen if President Abbas would not invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year in paying terrorists and the families of terrorists who murdered innocent people,” Netanyahu said.
“Imagine that he invested this in the project of peace. Imagine that they invested it in Ramallah, or for that matter in Gaza. Imagine what this would do,” Netanyahu said.
Liberman, however, has consistently opposed the plan, saying that it would not be possible to ensure that goods going to and from the island would not include smuggled weapons. He also said that these types of plans should be contingent on the demilitarization of Gaza.
Netanyahu has not placed his support behind the plan. No decision on it was reached last year, when the idea was broached in the security cabinet last June.
@ Bear Klein:
Sounds good to me. Anything that gets rid of the thrice-accursed Arabs is all good. And the steps you set down are logical and measured and could work, if properly applied.
@ Edgar G.: You said,
Actually quietly he has gone and learned his job. So the bravado talk when he no direct responsibility vanished when he got his job as DM. Or at least the acting on the talk.
Gaza solution will need to found however. Maybe it has to wait for finishing the Hezis and Iran given the small size of the IDF.
The solution step one is destroy Hamas, Islamic Jihad and any Salafi terrorists there. The IAF can hit hundreds of targets in a few hours easily. That done for two days will destroy and military infrastructure they have.
Step 2. You notify the population were they should advance to immediately.
Step 3. Via drones and helicopters you destroy and remnants of Hamas you see.
Step 4. The IDF marches into Gaza and takes over.
Step 5. You allow non violent civilians to leave to Egypt or via cruise ships that will be offshore to take out any Gazans that want leave.
You keep finding homes for Gazans to leave for as long as it takes and give them a plane or ship ticket to go elsewhere.
Step 6. In Northern Gaza land was owned since the 1930s by 3 or 4 Kibbutzim. You provide the opportunity for these people to resettle this land. Anyone there now could only stay if the land owners agree. The former residents of Gush Katif are also given a chance to start there again.
Step 7. The IDF shall take strategic control of Gaza and the Israeli Border Police shall be placed at all entrances to Gaza. Rafah on the Gaza side shall end up like on the Egyptian side with no houses for a considerable distance. A complete no go zone except for the IDF.
@ Bear Klein:
How right you are..Every word is true. I recall the mamzerim utterly destroying flourishing flower and vegetable businesses with regular EU clients taking all they could produce, tearing up all the pipes and selling them for scrap. Then dancing on the rubble.
This mishugas about helping humanitarian situations in Gaza attacks the overheated brains of the Israel “machers” periodically, for some unknown reason. They squander multi billions of foolishly donated gelt on the main goal of murdering every man woman and child in Israel, and by extension, in the rest of the world.
How long would it be before the mamzerim devised a fool proof plan to smuggle whatever they wanted into Gaza…and it would be munitions to destroy Jews. To have a foreign, or United Nations force doing the inspections etc as that stupid plan originator has suggested, would last as long as it would take to find the first one, or group to take a hefty bribe, likely also a Jew-hater, but likely also for the “offer he couldn’t refuse”
This guy Israel Katz who has NO BUSINESS being in the Security Cabinet, being not security conscious, and also a stupid, naive half-wit, should be pensioned off due to early Alzheimer’s, and replaced pronto by a more legit member.
I never thought I’d say this but Thank G-D for Lieberman, he has made good Minister of Defense.
This building an island is stupid at best or at worst leaning towards suicidal. Will this allow more military supplies to get to Hamas?
The issue is that Gaza is run by terrorists and not normal people. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. This island could help them in that goal.
They destroyed 3000 hot houses Israel left in tact when the left in 2005. They burned down the Karem Shalom crossing that gets them their supplies. So why would an island change any of that. Hell they might blow up the island if the Israelis start building it.