Wasting money in Gaza
Israel investing millions in building new Gaza crossing, as if peace is here
Tuesday this week: South of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, huge cranes lift trailers brought from the old border crossing. Giant cement walls at the site are meant to prevent direct fire – and meanwhile, intense work is underway: Israel is building a new terminal to be used for transferring goods into Gaza.
Millions of shekels and hard work by hundreds of security personnel are invested in accelerating the transfer of goods into the Strip, as if this was a time of peace, rather than the eve of war.
However, even our leaders admit that there’s no peace whatsoever. So why is the Israeli government investing money in a new crossing that aims to replace the breached Sufa Crossing? Why is Israel coordinating this with Mahmoud Abbas’ people, who are completely irrelevant to what goes on in Gaza? And why are millions being designated to build a new terminal for the welfare of Gazans, while southern Israel residents are not getting the money earmarked by the government to fortify their homes?
As it turns out, the Israeli government is acting out of inertia, due to international pressure. The politicians know that this investment may go down the drain, as happened for example with the deserted Erez Terminal.
Peace or war? Nobody can decide
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who arrived at the site to examine the pace of the work, said he would like to see the ceasefire continue and the new Kerem Shalom crossing allowing 100 trucks into Gaza on a daily basis. “This is an interest of both us and the Palestinians,” he says. However, Vilnai too, the former IDF Southern Command head and deputy army chief, admits that this pastoral picture could be replaced in a minute by clouds of smoke and rivers of blood. At that time, he believes Israel will be required to launch a large-scale military operation. Yet for the time being, he thinks the construction of the new crossing should be completed.
This is the Israeli government’s current conflict. Israel is attempting to prove to the world that it’s behaving properly, in the face of Hamas’ military build-up ahead of a confrontation. The Iranian-backed Hamas entity has become a malignant tumor in our backyard. Yet today, there is nobody in the government that can decide whether we have peace or war with Gaza. The current political situation – a dying government limping on its way out – cannot prevent the construction of white elephants, such as the new crossing.
A member of the national security cabinet addressed this reality when he said this week: “For 60 years now we had no solution for Gaza. Another three or six months won’t make the situation much worse.” Yet too bad he didn’t hear residents of southern communities, who are begging the government for another NIS 500 million (roughly $150 million) to build more secured rooms, before the war is renewed.
