The US military’s estimate of the cost to construct a pier on the coast of Gaza has risen to $320 million, Reuters reported on Monday.
The estimate is double what the military initially expected the project to cost. The construction has already begun and involves 1,000 US troops operating just off the coast of Gaza, putting them at risk of being targeted, which could lead to a major escalation in the US involvement in Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.
A staging area for the pier has already come under mortar fire. The attack didn’t hurt anyone, and only minor damage was reported, but the incident highlighted the risk of the project.
According to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the $320 million price tag is what it will cost for the US to operate the pier for just 90 days.
“How much will taxpayers be on the hook once – or if – the pier is finally constructed?” he told Reuters. “For every day this mission continues, the price tag goes up and so does the level of risk for the 1,000 deployed troops within range of Hamas’ rockets.”
President Biden ordered the military to construct the pier for aid deliveries instead of pressuring Israel to open more land border crossings, which is by far the most efficient way to get more aid into the Strip. Israel will impose a strict inspection regime on aid shipments coming through the pier, requiring inspections before they’re shipped from Cyprus and again when the aid reaches the shore of Gaza.
According to a report from The Jerusalem Post, the idea to build the pier actually came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who proposed it to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in October. A reporter for Israel’s Kan news said last month that during a meeting of the Knessett’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Netanyahu suggested using the pier to remove Palestinians from Gaza.