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For two weeks RFA Lyme Bay remained sailing around the Mediterranean Sea waiting to be disembarked. Its shallow bottom made it suitable for dumping emergency supplies on the sand. About 90 tons of shelter, blankets and medicines approved by Israel for entry into Gaza were on board. Israel’s then-Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, said it could land “immediately”. But after leaving the Cypriot port of Larnaca in mid-December, it headed west instead to Malta and eventually unloaded its cargo in Egypt in early January. “Israel’s security cannot be guaranteed,” says a diplomat involved in the mission.
Gaza’s 40 km long coastline should be ideal for landing support. But Israel is torn between its desire to get rid of the Gaza problem and its desire to control everything that enters it. ,[Aid] Israel will not come through,” meaning by land, Mr. Cohen said last month, favoring instead a sea corridor. But Israel’s security chief wants to let someone else decide what should go into Gaza. Their dual-use list (items are restricted because they could theoretically have some military use) also includes fridges, water filters and apparently toilet seats. Egypt is also in a dilemma. He fears that if the gates are opened too wide, people from Gaza will cross into Egypt.
Gaza was once a hub connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. Its ancient port Anthedon (Tida, as the Palestinians call it) dates back to the time of the Phoenicians 3,000 years ago. Hellenistic remains were still poking out of the sand before Israel’s recent bombing. Until 1948 it hosted a railway linking Cairo with Damascus. It was one of the first airports in the Middle East. But occupation by Egypt and then Israel over the past 75 years and a two-decade blockade have left the old junction virtually cut off from the world.
Efforts to revive its transport links have repeatedly failed. A port was promised in the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. But Israeli sanctions on construction goods slowed progress. Israel bombed it – and a renovated airport – during the intifada (rebellion) that lasted from 2000 to 2004. In 2005 Israel agreed to a US-brokered “access and movement” deal for a new airport, a seaport, and a bus route. West Bank. But after Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006, installing a rogue government in Gaza, Israel tightened the screws.
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which has been separate from Gaza since 2006, is also wary of a sea link lest the strip become isolated from the rest of Palestine. This could also provide an escape route for Palestinians and trigger mass migration.
Still, Gaza wants a major change. For decades it has led to an idea floated by Israel for an artificial island to host offshore gas fields, hospital ships or even a power station and serve as a port for yachts and cargo ships. Have looked towards the Mediterranean Sea for salvation. If only.
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Published: March 20, 2024, 05:26 PM IST
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