US Troops Begin Building Gaza Port Ahead of Israel’s Rafah Invasion

The Israeli prime minister has suggested the US built port could assist in ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza

US troops have begun construction of a maritime port off the coast of Gaza, the Pentagon said on 26 April, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face further displacement ahead of Israel’s anticipated invasion of Rafah....

US President Joe Biden announced the building of the port on 7 March, claiming it would allow a large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the threat of famine loomed.

However, the plan to build the port was first suggested to Biden by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 22 October, shortly after the war began, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Speaking at a private meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on 20 March, Netanyahu suggested the port could also facilitate the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, Kan News reported.

“As far as the State of Israel is concerned, there is no obstacle for the Gazans to leave, maybe even the port they are building could be used for this, but there are no countries in the world that are ready to receive them,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu’s statement raises fears the port could be used to expel Palestinians who have nowhere to flee ahead of Israel’s long-planned invasion of Rafah on the Gaza–Egypt border.

At the time of Biden’s 7 March announcement of the pier, Israeli officials were blocking most aid deliveries to Gaza overland by truck. A week before the announcement, the Israeli army fired into a crowd of hungry and starving people seeking to receive sacks of flour at Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City. Israeli fire and the subsequent stampede it caused killed 118.

Reuters reports that a senior White House official said humanitarian aid reaching the pier by sea “will need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land. That is despite the aid having already been inspected by Israel in Cyprus prior to being shipped to Gaza.”

Israel claims it wants to prevent any aid from getting to Hamas fighters that would allow them to keep fighting occupying Israeli forces.

Reuters adds that Israeli checkpoints at the pier “raises questions about possible delays even after aid reaches shore. The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza.”

🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Cradle

Related: 4/25 — US-Led Gaza Pier Project Comes Under Mortar Fire as UN Officials Tour Site

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