The Israeli cabinet is to vote in the coming weeks on a proposal to build a seaport on an artificial island off the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported Thursday.
The country's Transport Minister, Israel Katz, announced in an interview with the Jerusalem Post to be published in full on Friday that the proposed construction would span eight square kilometers (3.08 square miles) and would be connected to the mainland through a bridge with a military checkpoint.
Katz, who has been promoting the project for years, said the proposal has now obtained the backing of many in the defense establishment who were concerned by the possibility of an economic collapse in the Gaza Strip triggering another war with Israel.
"The world perceives Israel as having responsibility for Gaza," the minister said during the interview, adding that the port would help Gaza's economy and improve Israel's international image.
He said that opening Gaza to trade with the world would "not change the ideology of Hamas," but it could provide a new economic horizon for the Strip's population by enabling them to export goods abroad.
Hamas, a Sunni fundamentalist organization, has controlled Gaza since 2006, and its military wing and affiliated charities have been designated as a terrorist organization by countries such as the United States and Canada, as well as the European Union (EU).
"Israel should accompany and initiate the port construction program," Katz said, adding that there should be two conditions.
First, Israel will not pay for the project, estimated at around $5 billion in construction costs.
Second, Israel will possess the exclusive rights to monitor and check all ships and containers that arrive at the port, Katz stressed.
He added that states and private companies could work out how to fund the project, which would take approximately five years to complete.
EFE
4/8/16
The country's Transport Minister, Israel Katz, announced in an interview with the Jerusalem Post to be published in full on Friday that the proposed construction would span eight square kilometers (3.08 square miles) and would be connected to the mainland through a bridge with a military checkpoint.
Katz, who has been promoting the project for years, said the proposal has now obtained the backing of many in the defense establishment who were concerned by the possibility of an economic collapse in the Gaza Strip triggering another war with Israel.
"The world perceives Israel as having responsibility for Gaza," the minister said during the interview, adding that the port would help Gaza's economy and improve Israel's international image.
He said that opening Gaza to trade with the world would "not change the ideology of Hamas," but it could provide a new economic horizon for the Strip's population by enabling them to export goods abroad.
Hamas, a Sunni fundamentalist organization, has controlled Gaza since 2006, and its military wing and affiliated charities have been designated as a terrorist organization by countries such as the United States and Canada, as well as the European Union (EU).
"Israel should accompany and initiate the port construction program," Katz said, adding that there should be two conditions.
First, Israel will not pay for the project, estimated at around $5 billion in construction costs.
Second, Israel will possess the exclusive rights to monitor and check all ships and containers that arrive at the port, Katz stressed.
He added that states and private companies could work out how to fund the project, which would take approximately five years to complete.
EFE
4/8/16
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