'Israel' eyes private military contractors for bizarre US pier in Gaza

By Ali Halawi
Source: NBC News
17 Mar 2024 13:57
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The US no boots-on-the-ground policy in aid delivery will trigger the employment of foreign PMCs and militants, signaling a precarious future for the US pier in Gaza.

A gun-rights advocate with an "I VOTED" sticker on his holster gathers with others for an annual rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the United States, on May 6, 2019. (AP)

"Israel" is considering using international Private Military Companies (PMCs) to secure the soon-to-be-established American dock in the Gaza Strip, US officials told NBC News.

According to sources at the American network, Israeli officials have discussed the idea with senior officials from Joe Biden's administration in recent weeks. After airdropping minimal amounts of aid to residents of the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration moved to establish a temporary dock on the coast of central Gaza. Taking a step closer to a direct military presence in Palestine, the United States is taking another controversial step to deliver aid to hungry Gazans instead of pressuring "Israel" to allow the necessary aid through the available land crossings.

No US boots in Gaza

"Tonight, I’m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters," Biden announced during his State of the Union address on March 7.

"No US boots will be on the ground," he claimed.

However, a former US official and two current US officials told NBC News a different story from what Biden had promised. In fact, "Israel" had already approached several security companies, suggesting to US officials that other countries pay the "hefty" price of the private military contractors.

Only "some" US officials have expressed resistance to the idea of PMCs landing in the Gaza Strip, particularly if those contractors were of American nationality.

The Israeli government declined to comment on NBC's remarks, while the US administration did not respond to requests for comment.

A bizarre pretext to have troops on standby

Nevertheless, the main question regarding the logistics of delivering aid to millions of besieged Palestinians remains: Who will distribute the aid on the ground?

The US has yet to provide an answer to this question as its public stance of having no troops on the ground presents several hurdles for the plan's execution.

Following the construction of a floating dock and a portable pier system, the Biden administration hopes to deliver aid to northern Cyprus, where it will then load the aid onto ships that will transfer the shipments near the anchored system on Gaza's coast after undergoing multiple security checks. This is only the initial part of the process. US military personnel will then unload the aid only to load it back onto small boats and ferry the packages to the docking station.

The plan will require around 60 days and more than 1,000 US troops and civilian personnel.

Yet, after detailing this peculiar aid delivery process, aid still needs to be organized and distributed to Palestinians facing an imminent famine in the Gaza Strip, especially when US officials believe that the system will be able to deliver up to 2 million meals to the people a day.

PMCs and Palestinian "partners" in Gaza

Hence, here comes the role of PMC members and what the US describes as Palestinian "partners" in the besieged territory.

An attainable solution to the issue would be cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). However, the Biden administration decided to cut its funds and ties to the largest international organization in the Gaza Strip.

According to the two US officials that NBC News spoke to, "The US is also considering using Palestinian security providers in Gaza to help with aid distribution."

"The officials refused to elaborate on who these providers are, other than to say there are groups and factions in Gaza that are separate from Hamas and could help," NBC News explained.

To sum up, US and Israeli officials seek to employ foreign PMCs and Palestinian militants not affiliated with the Resistance to manage one of the most unusual aid delivery methods in recent history.

This is despite the fact that a senior Biden administration official admitted to the American network that "truck deliveries continue to be the most efficient way to get large amounts of aid into Gaza," with only "Israel" impeding such deliveries.