Palestinians greeted the announcement of the United States maritime pier in Gaza with skepticism, as the common impression amongst Palestinians is that the US administration maintains bias towards the Israeli occupation and shares complicity in the ongoing genocide, leading many to doubt the goals behind the construction.
Usage of US-manufactured ammunition has been documented in numerous Israeli massacres, including the recent bombardment of a school in Khan Yunis which is being used as a shelter, and further bombardment of the refugee tent camps which house thousands of displaced Palestinians. Even so, many welcomed the construction of a pier intended to deliver humanitarian aid, as the need in Gaza is so dire. Yet, the pier’s reality seems to affirm the suspicions many held.
Palestinians in the coastal enclave suspect the pier’s construction may have been underwritten by more sinister motives than the delivery of humanitarian aid, particularly after the pier was used during an Israeli massacre in Al-Nuseirat Refugee camp, with Israeli occupation forces murdering more than 290 Palestinians and freeing four Israeli prisoners. An Israeli military helicopter was seen taking the four freed Israeli captives from the beach in front of the pier during the operation in a video that was released online. Following the operation, the World Food Program paused aid distribution from the pier due to security concerns, a day after the attack.
Omar Mahdi, an academic and displaced Palestinian from Gaza City currently living in Deir Al-Balah commented, “Since it is a humanitarian project, it’s weird that the US military is building it. Why the deployment of a defensive umbrella?” he wondered.
Despite the floating dock being secured by the Israel occupation forces, as according to official Israeli statements, US troops have set up Centurion C-RAM point defense systems and M-LIDS anti-drone measures to protect its dock.
The maritime pier is a modular floating causeway protruding off the Gaza shore. President Biden ordered the U.S. military to begin building the pier in March, a step that was seen by several Palestinian writers, political analysts, and critics as the US administration saving face and helping Israel deflect its culpability for the Gaza genocide and the severe restrictions on humanitarian aid, as the pier has not demonstrably served to alleviate the worsening humanitarian conditions in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where more than 2.1 million people are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity and extreme levels of hunger.
Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to several international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch. At least 35 Palestinian children’s death of malnutrition and dehydration have been recorded in the battered and aid-starved Gaza. In a press release, a group of UN experts stated, that the recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza Strip. The Gaza media office has labeled the American floating port a “humanitarian lie.” The head of the office Salam Maarouf accused the US administration of deceiving global public opinion. He added that it doesn’t contribute seriously to alleviating the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
The hulking steel pier cost $230m to be installed on Gaza’s shore. It was first launched in mid-May and resumed operations last week after a recent pause due to rough seas. Mahdi said ironically, “It seems that these several fits and starts are intentional, as how could it be that such a strong army with advanced equipment can’t handle a pier?”
In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service for only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it has either been under repair after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage, or paused because of security concerns.
Activist Islam Ajrami, from northern Gaza, voiced her criticism over the project, describing the American-built maritime port as a fiasco. “I never expect anything good from US administration,” she said. “It’s treachery, they feed us today and kill us the next day with their weapons.” The promised aid the pier was meant to deliver has not come. “Nothing reaches us in the north from this pier at all,” she says, adding ironically, “Even the Gaza water refuses their presence and the waves cast them up forever.” According to the Associated Press (AP), the pier will be reinstalled Wednesday to be in operation for several days, to clear the cache of aid that has piled up in Cyprus, but then the plan is to pull it out permanently. Announcement of the failure to rescue the starving people of Gaza has revealed the sinister intent behind the pier.
-Wafa Aludaini is a Gaza-based journalist. She contributed this article to the Palestinian Information Center.
