Israel is seriously considering building a man-made island
off the coast of Gaza to provide Palestinians an airport, seaport, new jobs and
an internationally supervised export-import system, while assuring greater
security for Israel.

This according to The Israel Project, a fascinating effort
at rapid-response counter propaganda in support of Israel no matter what.

“The island would also further highlight Israel’s
desire to allow Palestinians to run their own affairs in Gaza, from which
Israel withdrew all of its citizens and military almost six years ago. The area
would be controlled by an international entity such as NATO, which would be
responsible for vessels and goods that enter and exit,” TIP said in its
release.

TIP’s report went to great length to make the $6-10 billion
project sound like a gift to the Palestinians with at least ten other such
artificial islands listed as examples for precedent.

“This new state program designed for the full
disengagement from Gaza will allow Palestinians to have a naval port and an
airport, partly controlled by Israel, and will create hundreds of thousands of
jobs and economic prosperity,” Israel’s Transportation Minister Israel
Katz told The Israel Project Wednesday (March 30). “Many Israeli,
Palestinian and international investors and businessmen already have expressed
their interest in participating in the project.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be behind the
project. No surprise there. His track record on Palestinian rights suggests he
simply cannot be trusted.

We think this Mediterranean Alcatraz — a prisoner transfer
from coast to island — is another Israeli maneuver to avoid granting the occupied
Palestinians the human rights and justice they deserve.  The idea should be rejected out of hand
by the Palestinians and by the international community.