Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: The talks will focus on the political aspect, and the agency's delegation will not be accompanied by any inspector
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: An IAEA delegation will visit Tehran next week to discuss mechanisms for implementing the parliament's law suspending cooperation with the agency
Palestinian media: Herds of Israeli settlers storm the al-Aqsa Mosque and perform Talmudic rituals in it
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: 15 martyrs were transferred to hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past few hours as the Israeli occupation continues its aggression on the camps of the displaced
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: 38 were killed since dawn on Saturday, as the Israeli occupation army targeted aid seekers at distribution sites
Palestinian Red Crescent: One martyr, several injuries among our teams after the occupation bombed the association's headquarters in al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Younis.
Sirens sound in Gaza Envelope settlements.

The real reason behind the US 'port' in Gaza

  • Tom Fowdy Tom Fowdy
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 15 Mar 2024 00:36
  • 66 Shares
5 Min Read

The US goal of course is not to deliver humanitarian aid, after all, who builds an entire port just for a short-term effort?

  • x
  • The real reason behind the US 'port' in Gaza
    The goal of course is not to deliver humanitarian aid (Illustrated by Hady Dbouk; Al Mayadeen English)

Recently, it was announced by US President Joe Biden that American forces would take the initiative to build a “temporary” port in the Gaza Strip. According to the White House, this port will serve the role of delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged and bombed population of the Strip, of which an estimated 30,000 or so have died amid "Israel’s" relentless invasion of it. While of course, the purpose of such a port distracts from the reality that "Tel Aviv" has always subjected the region to a naval blockade, one should not buy the premise that America would go as far as building such infrastructure purely out of benevolence. Rather, there is another agenda at play.

In offering "Israel" unconditional backing to effectively invade and occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip, despite what officials may say, the United States has long eyed an opportunity to give "Tel Aviv" control over offshore natural gas resources, which, by legal rights, belong to the Palestinian state. This area, known as “The Gaza Marine,” is home to 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources. Although discovered in 2000, "Israel" has never permitted the Palestinian Authority to have access to it, and likewise, the Gaza Strip has long been under an effective maritime and economic blockade, which has prevented it from being developed outside of Israeli control.

Certain world events in the past two years have considerably amplified the strategic value of natural gas. Namely, the war in Ukraine has led Western countries to scramble for alternative energy resources to reduce dependence on Moscow, particularly those controlled by “friendly” countries who compliment the strategic goals of the United States. To this end, broader political interest in the Gaza Marine increased, and in June 2023, "Israel’s" government decided to “approve” the notion of developing it in cooperation with Palestinian authorities, which according to Hamas also gave the Gaza Strip “rights to it.” 

Related News

Why the US is unqualified to promote peace between Thailand and Cambodia

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah: Lebanon’s lion roars the truth

However, the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza has clearly led to a change of plan. On this happening, Benjamin Netanyahu made the political decision to invade with the goal of completely occupying the Gaza Strip, calling bluff on western red lines and effectively affirming political control of it thereafter, which is coded as “being under Israel’s full security control.” This means, by extension, that "Israel" will also gain full control over the Strip’s economy and resources, and therefore not have to treat the system set up in the Strip as a co-party in any negotiations to utilize its natural gas resources accordingly. After all, the Palestinian authority in the West Bank is set in a landlocked territory away from the sea and has no leverage to control the natural gas resources which are legally their own.

Given this, it seems suspicious that the United States should determine to build a “temporary humanitarian” port in Gaza this time. The goal of course is not to deliver humanitarian aid, after all, who builds an entire port just for a short-term effort? Moreover, does such a pledge of maritime aid really make that much of a difference when the US continues to greenlight and enable indiscriminate Israeli bombing of the territory? Rather, the real long-term aim is to help strategically prepare the Strip for what they already envision to be the next stage of full Israeli military occupation, a premise which the Biden administration and others have claimed to oppose but never for that matter done anything about. 

As Hisham Khreisat, a Jordanian military and strategic affairs expert, told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that there are “hidden objectives” behind the construction of such a port and that it is a “humanitarian facade hiding voluntary migration to Europe." In other words, it will be used to enable “the displacement of Gazans and their flee to Europe.” In addition to that, it will also enable "Israel" to control every single entrance point to the Strip, and he notes, in turn, that "Israel" will ultimately shut down the Rafah crossing with Egypt when it invades the city, therefore giving it 100% control over Gaza’s borders, critical to ending Palestinian sovereignty.

On a domestic level, it is also a public relations stunt to allow the Biden administration to give the impression that it is doing something to deflect some criticism, allowing Netanyahu to continue to push southward and invade Rafah and thus proceed with his plans, unopposed. Therefore, while depicted to the world as an act of humanitarian benevolence, in reality, the construction of this “temporary port” is part of the broader US-backed strategy to effectively end Palestinian sovereignty over the Gaza Strip, create a new outlet for refugee flows, and pave the way for "Israel" to seize its natural gas resources in the process, complementing the US’ energy competition policies with Russia. It is a classic case of “giving with one hand and taking away with the other.” The port is to be an effective asset in what will become the full Israeli occupation of Gaza.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • Gaza Strip
  • Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Israel
  • US
  • Gaza genocide
  • US President Joe Biden
  • Rafah
  • Israeli occupation
  • Gaza
  • US port in Gaza
Tom Fowdy

Tom Fowdy

British journalist, columnist, and political analyst, with a specialist focus on Asia topics. He resides in South Korea.

War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

All
Given ample indications Epstein was collating sexual blackmail material on powerful figures for intelligence agencies, comments made by Mirage's cofounder to Ynet take on a chilling character. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Zionist spies innovate AI sexual blackmail tech

  • Analysis
  • 27 Jul 2025
The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

The right wing love affair with Zionism has ended

  • Opinion
  • 23 Jul 2025
Beyond the United States are critical leftist perspectives which underline the reawakening of the Arab left. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Reawakening of the Arab Left: Amman to Tunis, new voices challenging empire and capital

  • Opinion
  • 21 Jul 2025
Support for the entity and its genocidal actions is becoming increasingly indefensible, as the monstrous truth becomes writ ever-larger. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

How Zionists control Australia’s media

  • Opinion
  • 20 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
Netanyahu has already fallen into the trap of a huge cat and mouse, or a “whack-a-mole” game, which is hugely costly and simply unsustainable. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Ali Al-Hadi Shmeiss)

Netanyahu has gravely miscalculated invading Lebanon

Britain's Arms Restrictions are symbolic yet send a meaningful message

Britain's Arms Restrictions are symbolic yet send a meaningful message

Essentially, the game goes “You have done X against us, therefore we will salami slice your land further.” (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

West Bank attacks lay bare what Netanyahu's endgame is for Palestinian territories

The US wants damage control, but Netanyahu wants conflict because it is in his political interest to do so. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

It's America, not 'Israel' who wants a ceasefire

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS