by AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Yisrael Katz says an island for moving goods in and out of the Gaza Strip can be part of the broader goal of creating regional security and economic peace between Israel and its neighbors • Project would take five years to build, cost some $5 billion.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz
|
Photo credit: AP  |
Israel's transportation minister says he is
pushing forward with a proposal to build an artificial island with a
seaport off the coast of Hamas-ruled Gaza that he believes will
alleviate hardship in the enclave.
With an independent Palestinian state unlikely
anytime soon, Yisrael Katz told The Associated Press that an island for
moving goods in and out of the Gaza Strip was part of his broader goal
of creating regional security and "economic peace" between Israel and
its neighbors.
Katz's plan calls for an 8-square-kilometer
(3-square-mile) island linked to Gaza by a 5-kilometer (3-mile) bridge.
The island, estimated to cost $5 billion, would take five years to build
and include a seaport, a power plant, a desalination plant, and perhaps
a future airport. Israel would supervise security but it would
otherwise be run by the Palestinians and the international community.
The plan, he said, would mark the completion of Israel's 2005 withdrawal
from Gaza.
"No Palestinian can oppose this, not Abu Mazen
[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] and not Hamas, because
it gives them an opening to the world," Katz said. "In an absurd way, we
are giving Hamas the keys to the world's largest prison."
The Palestinians have greeted the plan with
skepticism, concerned that it is an Israeli power play whose real aim is
to cement control over Gaza and further sever the territory from the
West Bank. The Palestinians seek both territories, which are divided
between rival governments, as parts of a future state.
Nabil Shaath, Abbas' foreign affairs adviser,
said the Palestinians have their own plans for developing Gaza's
coastline. "We are capable of taking care of ourselves. All we need is
for Israel to leave us alone and lift the siege on Gaza," he said.
Shaath said Israel has rejected a number of
initiatives over the years on security grounds. These include a
French-Dutch offer to build a seaport in Gaza and a proposal for the
Palestinians to rent a port in Cyprus, where international inspectors
could check all cargo before it is shipped to the Strip.
"Katz's idea is to build a place that will be
easy for Israel to control," he said. "Israel is the main reason for the
crisis in Gaza and it is the obstacle in the way of our development."
Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group that controls Gaza, declined comment.
While the plan seems like a long shot, the
idea has helped brand Katz as a creative thinker. The veteran cabinet
minister has long been a power broker in the ruling Likud party but
remains generally unknown internationally.
Katz made it clear he considers himself Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's natural successor but would not challenge
the prime minister as long as he remains in power.
"The day he retires, I am running for head of Likud and prime minister," Katz stated.
The next Israeli election is not scheduled until 2019, and Netanyahu has given no indication of stepping down.
Katz said he is serious about the island plan,
which he believes could bring relief to the people of Gaza at a time of
political impasse.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza
after Hamas violently seized power from the internationally backed
Palestinian Authority in 2007. Repeated reconciliation attempts between
Gaza and West Bank governments have failed.
Jerusalem and Cairo both maintain a blockade
is necessary to prevent arms from reaching Hamas and the other terrorist
groups based in the enclave. Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction and
has fought three wars with the Jewish state since 2007.
The blockade has hit Gaza's economy hard.
Israel currently allows about 850 truckloads of goods into the Strip
each day, but aid groups and U.N. officials say this is not enough to
meet Gaza's needs.
Katz said the island would be in international
waters and could provide economic independence to Palestinians while
allowing Israel to still vet security.
He said Israel's defense establishment backs
the plan, adding he has asked Netanyahu to present the idea for a
cabinet vote soon. After that, international bodies would have to get
involved in the implementation and funding.
Katz said he has gotten positive feedback from
the U.S. and from Arab countries and that he believes wealthy Arab
governments would pick up the hefty tab, though he declined to identify
them.
Officials in Saudi Arabia and with the Gulf Cooperation Council declined comment on the issue, as did the U.S. State Department.
Katz said Israel will not negotiate directly
with Hamas, adding that he has received indications that the
Western-backed Palestinian Authority would welcome such a plan -- a
claim Ramallah denies.
Although he himself opposes the creation of a
Palestinian state, Katz said none of his initiatives inhibit future
negotiations. "I'm talking about an interim arrangement for 10 to 15
years that can lower violence and friction, loosen the reins on the
population and let them develop," he said.
AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40985
Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment