Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said – today, Sunday – that Israel is ready to allow ships to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, within the framework of a sea corridor proposed by Cyprus, and he identified 4 European countries capable of potential participation in this process.
Cohen confirmed to radio station 103 FM when asked about the sea corridor that it “could start immediately.”
He added that Britain, France, Greece and the Netherlands are among the countries that have ships capable of directly reaching the shores of Gaza, which lacks a deep-water port. He seemed to indicate that he expected them to do so rather than unload aid into Israel.
Cohen continued, “They asked us for the equipment to come through the Israeli port of Ashdod, and the answer is no. It will not come through Ashdod. It will not come through Israel. We want to disengage from security monitoring. This is the goal of this operation.”
There was no immediate comment from London, Paris, Athens or Amsterdam.
Cypriot proposal
Under the arrangement first proposed by Nicosia last November, shipments would undergo security inspection at the Cypriot port of Larnaca before being transported to the Gaza coast, 370 kilometers away, rather than through Egypt or Israel.
If the plan goes ahead, it will represent the first easing of the Israeli naval blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007 after the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) took control of the Palestinian Strip.
With the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians, the idea may go some way towards meeting the United Nations Security Council resolution issued on December 22, which calls for the expansion of humanitarian relief mechanisms.
A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that Britain and Greece had previously expressed their support for the Cypriot initiative, adding that Britain had offered ships capable of anchoring in shallow waters to approach the Gaza coast.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also supported the Cyprus plan, which will include the participation of Israeli security personnel in inspections in Larnaca.
Many European and Arab donor countries send aid to Gaza through the Egyptian city of Al-Arish, which is close to the border with the Gaza Strip. Israel has been involved in monitoring these shipments, which some humanitarian agencies say delays the arrival of aid.
Yesterday, Saturday, Israel indicated that it intends to control the border area between Gaza and Egypt as part of its efforts to disarm the Strip.