By Wang Min
The temporary pier built by the US at a cost of USD 320 million in Gaza has been a topic of controversy recently because of its damage and repair, limited receiving capability, expanded scope of use, and many other factors. This mirrors the US' hypocrisy and turpitude on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
In his State of the Union address this March, US President Joe Biden announced that they will build a temporary floating pier in Gaza to provide humanitarian aid. However, soon after the pier was put into use on May 17, part of it broke away from the main body due to wind and waves and drifted ashore on the coast of Ashdod, and a US landing ship also ran aground there when trying to retrieve the missing part. In the past few days, the pier's limited ability to receive supplies and the much criticized use of it for unintended purposes have drawn renewed attention.
The pier is just the tip of the iceberg of the US' irresponsible policies. Ever since this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, the US has been playing favorites without even bothering to disguise it. It has abused its vetoing power to obstruct the UN Security Council from passing a ceasefire resolution; it has vetoed the draft resolution that recognizes Palestine as an official UN member; and it has been feeding Israel with huge amounts of weapons and ammunition, being a downright accomplice in the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The temporary pier was built just to gloss over its inhuman actions. However, the USD 320-million pier, which couldn't even stand the attack of wind and waves, has posed an ironic contrast to the over USD 10-billion military assistance to Israel passed in April this year, and laid bare the hollowness and hypocrisy of the White House's statement about reducing civilian casualties in Palestine and performing its humanitarian responsibilities.
In fact, the temporary pier in Gaza exactly revealed the immense sufferings that the local people are going through. Since the conflict broke out, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 84,000. Now the pouring of masses of local civilians into Rafah and the grave shortage of food and medicines are causing an extreme humanitarian disaster. Turning a blind eye to all these, the Israeli military forces bombed the designated "humanitarian zone" lately, causing the death of many, including women and children.
Analysts have pointed out that the temporary pier that Washington has bragged about is actually a green light to Israel's continued military actions. During the first week of its operation, the assistance supplies arriving at various places in Gaza from the pier amounted to only 71 truckloads, about 15% of the minimal living necessities required to feed the people living in the region. In fact, land transport is a more efficient way of providing humanitarian aid. Therefore, the so-called humanitarian effort of building the pier is just a cover-up of Israel's actual blockade of land transport to Gaza. As Israel marched into Rafah, objections have grown stronger and the US' Gaza policy is about to collapse further.
Apart from its temporary pier in Gaza, what needs repair even more is the US' international credibility and morality as its influence on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is being increasingly eroded by its favoritism. Four European countries, Norway, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia, have announced their recognition of the State of Palestine, and the International Court of Justice has issued the provisional measures order demanding Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive" in Rafah.
It is foreseeable that if the US continues its current approach to the Palestinian-Israeli issue, it will meet even stronger waves of objection.
