(RepublicanJournal.org) – The centerpiece of President Biden’s plan to get humanitarian aid to Gaza was a temporary pier, built by the US military, that would allow ships to deliver aid straight to the beach. However the pier has been dogged by problems, from weather damage to accusations of cooperation with Israeli commandos. Now the administration has given up on the project.
Military Pier Was Key to Aid Plan
On March 9, a US Army support ship left Norfolk, Virginia loaded with engineering equipment. The plan was to build a floating pier running out from a beach in Gaza; cargo ships carrying humanitarian aid would offload at a floating platform offshore, and the supplies would then be ferried to the pier on barges and delivered straight to the beach. The idea was that this would let aid be delivered without relying on Gaza’s border crossings with Israel and Egypt, which are often closed because of the threat of terrorist attacks. On April 26, the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary began building the floating structures, and by May 16 it was complete.
Despite the rapid construction of the pier, however, things didn’t go smoothly. The first aid shipment came ashore on May 17; just eight days later part of the pier broke loose in rough waves. No sooner was that repaired than, on May 28, the pier was damaged by bad weather. It was towed to an Israeli port for repairs, and was back in operation on June 8. The same day an Israeli military helicopter, extracting troops and rescued hostages, briefly landed near the pier; Palestinians accused the US military of helping Israel. Then, on June 22, the pier was damaged by weather again, and parts of it washed up over 40 miles away on a beach near Tel Aviv. On July 10 it was back in operation again, but next day the US military said it would soon be shut down for good. President Biden said he was “disappointed” at how the project had worked out.
Pentagon Axes Project
Now it’s official. On July 17 Pentagon spokesman Maj Gen Patrick Ryder said the pier will be dismantled. Since it was completed in mid-May, more than two months ago, it’s been operational for just 20 days and delivered around 8,600 tons of aid. However, so far the operation has cost more than $230 million — so US taxpayers have paid more than $25,000 for every ton of aid delivered. Even worse, much of the aid was stolen by Hamas terrorists before it could be distributed to the people of Gaza. The Biden administration has wasted a huge amount of money on a failed project.
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