The plot thickens. It was reported last week, Netanyahu says Abbas must choose peace w/ Hamas or Israel in response to Abbas’s efforts to plunge ahead with his plans to seek UN recognition either from the UN Security Council or General Assembly in September. JPost reports: “According to Israeli officials, the US is also trying to convince various countries to oppose the move.“ There seems to be a little hitch.
But diplomatic officials said that it would be easier to lobby support if Israel had an alternative plan of where things were going.
Oh wow why didn’t I think of that? Want to hear the latest plan?
Channel 2 reported that one plan that was being considered – and has even been discussed in the security cabinet – was the construction of a 2 km.-by-4 km. artificial island built 4.5 km. off the coast of Gaza and linked by a bridge. According to the plan, Gaza’s exports and imports would go though this island, which would include a port and an airport. The island would be under the security control of NATO or another international body that would search the cargo going in and out of the Gaza Strip. …….. According to the report, the project – spearheaded by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz – would cost between $5 billion and $10b. and take some six years to build. Katz spoke a number of months ago about the idea with Netanyahu, who told him to develop a plan. Some 17 similar models from around the world were studied and discussed.
Shall we file this under “Throw everything against the wall and see what sticks?”
For news more grounded in rationality emanating from the report:
Nimer Hammad, political adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of practicing “political thuggery” against the UN. He said that the international community could no longer tolerate Israel’s “arrogance” and “disrespect” for international laws……… The spokesman also brushed aside the Israeli warnings about a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by the UN. He said that the number of countries that recognize Palestine is bigger than those who don’t, and added that all West Bank settlements would be dismantled “sooner or later,” just as they were in the Gaza Strip.
