Israelis split over floating harbor off Gaza
Israeli officials announced their opposition to building a floating harbor off the Gaza coast, which Hamas condemned and considered to be another measure to tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During a meeting of Israel’s security Cabinet Aug. 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman expressed their objection to the plan by Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz to establish a port off the coast of the Gaza Strip.
Katz had revealed in January a plan to build a port by creating an artificial island just 4.5 kilometers (roughly 3 miles) off the Gazan coast. The port would have energy facilities and a runway for planes. The island would be linked to Gaza through a bridge with a security checkpoint. He said that international parties — which he did not name — would be in charge of funding and building the port that would be internationally controlled and monitored, so long as Israel would be in charge of the maritime security as well as inspection at the port.
According to the Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom, Netanyahu and Liberman had “objected to the plan as there would be no guarantee of [Israel’s] full control over the goods and the people moving through the port, even if a separate [artificial] island is built [off Gaza’s coast].”
The newspaper pointed out that contrary to Netanyahu and Liberman’s position, Israeli senior politicians said that the Israeli army and the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) found no security problem that could emanate from establishing this port. “Some officials in the foreign and finance ministries believe that this solution [establishing a port in Gaza] would be good on both the political and economic levels. Katz had asked the Cabinet to form a ministerial staff to embark on the project, but his request was denied,” the paper reported.
