Gaza port project seen as key to truce

SHEIK EJLEEN , GAZA STRIP • An unmarked dirt lot about the size of a football field, on a cliff above the crashing waves of the Mediterranean, could be a crucial element in ending the monthlong battle between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

It was here a European contractor began building a commercial seaport in July 2000, only to have its work quickly destroyed by Israeli tanks and bombs. Now, Palestinian leaders trying to negotiate terms in Cairo for a durable truce have made reviving the seaport project a prime demand.

The port has become the embodiment of Palestinian aspirations to break the siege of Gaza, at once an icon of independence and a potential economic engine that would reduce the territory’s reliance on increasingly hostile neighbours.

First promised by the Oslo Accords in 1993, the idea of a seaport has won some backing from Europe, Egypt and the United Nations, albeit with caveats to address Israeli security concerns. Gazans “view this as a steppingstone toward exercising some greater sovereignty over their own borders,” said Nathan Thrall, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group.

The price tag would top US$100-million, likely European donors. Construction would take at least three years. Although the seaport was in-

The seaport is a focal point for negotiators

cluded in three previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements, Israel insists Gaza must first be disarmed.

Sari Bashi, founder of Gisha, an Israeli non-profit group that promotes expanding access to and from Gaza, said while a seaport “could open new horizons,” it would not address the most basic complaint of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents: They cannot travel freely — most notably to Jerusalem, to Israel and to the West Bank, where many have relatives they have not seen in years.

“The seaport is a focal point for negotiators — the extent to which it’s a top priority for the population is an open question. A seaport is not going to reunite families. It’s not going to help farmers and manufacturers to market in Israel and the West Bank. It’s not something that’s going to have an immediate effect.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES Smoke rises over a seaport in Gaza City in July.