Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on Sunday that the country is "prepared to allow ships to deliver aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip immediately as part of a proposed maritime corridor from Cyprus." He identified four European countries capable of potentially participating in this operation. When asked about the maritime corridor during an interview on 103 FM radio, he said, "It can start immediately," adding that "Britain, France, Greece, and the Netherlands are among the countries with ships that can reach the shores of Gaza, which lacks a deep-water port." He appeared to indicate that he expects them to do so instead of unloading the aid in Israel.
Cohen continued, "They asked us to let 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 to separate from security oversight. This is the goal of this operation."
Under the arrangement proposed by Nicosia in November, shipments would be subject to security checks at the Cypriot port of Larnaca before being transferred to the Gaza coast, located 370 kilometers away, and not through Egypt or Israel. If the plan goes ahead, it would represent the first easing of the Israeli naval blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007 after the Hamas movement took control of the Palestinian territory.
Israel described the corridor as a means to end its civil relations with Gaza, where it has been conducting an ongoing assault for 12 weeks in response to an attack by Hamas fighters across the border that resulted in casualties and hostages being taken. With hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians displaced, the idea could go some way toward meeting the UN Security Council resolution issued on December 22, which calls for expanding humanitarian relief mechanisms.
