Jerusalem:
Israel is ready to allow ships to deliver aid “immediately” to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip as part of a proposed maritime corridor from Cyprus, Israel's foreign minister said on Sunday, naming four European countries as potential participants.
Under the arrangement first proposed by Nicosia in November, the cargo would undergo a security inspection at the Cypriot port of Larnaca before being transported to the Gaza coast, 230 miles (370 km) away, rather than via neighboring Egypt or Israel.
If the plan goes ahead, it would mark the first easing of an Israeli naval blockade imposed on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel has described the corridor as a means to end its civilian ties with Gaza, where it has been waging a 12-week offensive in retaliation for a cross-border wave of killings and kidnappings by Hamas gunmen.
With hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians displaced, the idea could also go some way to addressing a December 22 UN Security Council resolution calling for expanded humanitarian aid mechanisms.
“It can start immediately,” Secretary of State Eli Cohen told Tel Aviv radio station 103 FM when asked about the Mediterranean corridor.
He said Britain, France, Greece and the Netherlands are among the countries with ships that can land directly on the coast of Gaza, which has no deep-water port. He seemed to suggest that he expected them to do that rather than transfer the aid to Israel.
“They requested that the equipment come through (the Israeli port of) Ashdod. The answer is no. It will not come through Ashdod. It will not come through Israel. We want withdrawal, with security control. That is the purpose of this process,” Cohen said.
There was no immediate response from London, Paris, Athens or Amsterdam.
Britain and Greece have previously expressed support for the Cypriot initiative, with Britain offering shallow-bottomed ships to approach the Gaza coast, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has also backed the Cypriot plan, which would see Israeli security agents take part in the inspections in Larnaca.
“Currently there is a maritime blockade, and if such a (auxiliary) ship comes from Larnaca, it will be with our approval,” Cohen said. “It will obviously be a secure corridor as we have no intention of endangering any British or French ship coming with us.”
Several European and Arab donor countries have sent aid to Gaza through the nearby Egyptian coastal town of Al Arish. Israel has been involved in monitoring these shipments, which some humanitarian aid organizations say is causing delays.
Cairo is monitoring traffic across the Gaza border and has ruled out any influx of Palestinian refugees. On Saturday, Israel signaled it would take control of the Gaza-Egypt border zone as part of its efforts to demilitarize the enclave.
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