Israeli-centered IMEC dealt heavy blow by Axis of Resistance: Report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Truthout
6 May 2024 22:15
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Truthout says that the dream of transforming the Israeli regime into a transportation hub has been shattered by the war on Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds his map of "The New Middle East" and a red marker pen as he addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, erasing Palestine from the map while doing so, on September 22, 2023. (AP)

Israeli attempts to turn Palestinian ports they occupy into the region's transport hub have taken a hit as a result of their ongoing war on Gaza, according to Truthout.

The Israeli occupation is facing a maritime and land blockade, aiming to push it to stop its genocidal war, which has put its India Middle East Europe Economic Corridors project (IMEC) in danger.

IMEC is an elaborate joint project pushed for by the Biden administration, which hopes to establish a trade route from the Indian Ocean toward the Gulf, crossing the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, to later reach Israeli-occupied ports where goods would be loaded onto ships traveling to Europe.

According to Truthout, the project has suffered an "irrevocable setback" as a result of the whiplash "Israel" endured in the past months.

The project was originally announced by Biden at a G20 meeting. However, it was met with skepticism due to the costs of deliveries and insufficient infrastructural basis. Now the issue is no longer related to logistics or operational costs, but rather to security issues, forcing partners to look elsewhere for a cut into East Asia-Europe trade profits.

DRP largest hit to IMEC amid regional instability

For example, just recently, the UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkey, Iraq, and Qatar to fund IMEC's rival, the Development Road Project (DRP). Contrary to IMEC, the project aims to develop historical trade routes, which are geographically feasible, to deliver East Asian products from Iraq, through the Gulf, to Turkey and later the European continent.

Truthout says that the maritime blockades imposed by the Yemeni Armed Forces and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea on the Israeli regime have "raised doubts about the viability of Israel as an efficient and reliable transportation hub."

"The cost of the genocide in Palestine on Israel is now having strategic ramifications that undermine Israel’s future economic prospects," the news website wrote.

Israeli actions that have led to it being perceived as a "rogue state" by other countries and the instability surrounding it have "cast doubts" over the future of IMEC and propelled a feeling of a lack of confidence among governments.

The website also highlighted Lebanon's proposal to replace the Israeli-occupied Haifa Port with its own Beirut Port.

Truthout said that the developments on the DPR and Lebanon's request prove that regional actors are preparing for "a post-Israel Middle East in which Israel is no longer a major player."