On the morning of June 10, just hours before the Security Cabinet — the Israeli government’s top forum on security issues — was set to debate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Transportation and Intelligence Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz struck from the agenda his proposal to build an artificial island off the Gaza coast.

Katz, a member of the Security Cabinet, has been trying in recent years to promote this ambitious and creative plan to ease the pressure of the blockade on Gaza and provide the Palestinians their economic independence without endangering Israel’s security. The plan, which Katz calls a “separation island,” a play on words in Hebrew, has been the focus of international attention, but the Security Cabinet, especially Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, has turned its backs on the idea.

Ahead of the Security Cabinet session, Katz and the director of the Intelligence Ministry, Chagai Tzuriel, went over their slick presentation and prepared topics for discussion, including the legal aspects of the proposal. On the morning of the meeting, however, Katz realized that the strategic debate, scheduled weeks in advance, would instead become a tactical discussion given the series of violent clashes along the Gaza border in recent weeks and the wave of incendiary kite attacks that Israelis have dubbed “kite terrorism.” Katz consulted with others and then announced that he would withdraw his plan from the agenda. 

The official reason for his decision was Liberman’s sweeping opposition to the approach. Katz has known for a while that the defense minister is not enamored of the plan, especially after Liberman said in February that investing billions for the benefit of the Hamas rulers of Gaza was “total madness.” Katz, however, assumed that within the framework of a strategic debate and having the support of defense officials he would finally get to lay out his much-touted plan in an organized presentation, and that given the escalation surrounding Gaza, the Security Cabinet would give it due consideration.