Since October 7, 2023, almost, 15000 civilians, including thousands of children and women, in Palestine have been killed by Israeli forces. There is much speculation that the latter is intentionally targeting children and women as a weapon to draw Hamas out of their hiding places. The recent genocide of the people of Gaza started after Hamas attacks on Israel on 7th October. Israel is using these attacks as an excuse for its beyond-the-pale atrocities and war crimes in Gaza, ignoring the fact that Hamas attacks were not conducted in isolation. The history of the Israel Palestine conflict dates back almost a century. The Zionist people invaded the lands of Palestinians and forced them to evacuate their homes in 1948. A long history of violence, humiliation, and subjugation led to the creation and recent attacks of Hamas, which has also been admitted by the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The Israeli Defense Forces have killed thousands of civilians and bombed different hospitals, residential buildings, and some refugee camps in response to the Hamas attacks. Although these attacks provided an excuse for the Israeli forces to conduct this massacre in Gaza, the successful attack by Hamas has raised suspicions around the globe. Israel is considered one of the world’s best-equipped countries in terms of defense and eavesdropping technology. Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, has earned a reputation of being among the best infiltrators and intelligence gatherers in the world. Moreover, the United States also collaborates with Israel in terms of intelligence sharing. Despite possessing such an invincible intelligence and defense system, being unaware of the Hamas’ operation has raised suspicions among many analysts around the globe.
The recent mass ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from Gaza, indiscriminate operation by the Israeli forces, and rejection of ceasefire efforts and suggestions by Israel with the support of the United States demonstrate that all this predicate on something much more than just self-defense. Many believe that the real intention behind this genocide of the Palestinian people and their forced displacement from Gaza is directed towards the launch of Israel’s long-term dream project, the Ben-Gurion Canal. The construction of this canal was proposed in the 1960s by the founding father of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.
The continents of Asia and Europe are connected through the Suez Canal, which handles almost 10-12 percent of global cargo trade ships. It is responsible for the transportation of almost all the trade between Asia and Europe. The canal was once operated by the Suez Company. However, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Former Egyptian President, transferred the operations of the canal to the state-owned Suez Canal Authority, in 1956, which sparked the Suez Canal Crisis – the second Arab-Israeli War.
Since then, Egypt has used this strategic location against Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people several times. The canal was closed for all international trade and shipping in 1956 following the aggression of the UK, Israel, and France, who wanted to regain control of the canal. In addition, the canal was also closed in 1967 at the commencement of the Six-Day War. This blockade paralyzed Israel’s trade with Asia and East Africa. The closure of the Suez Canal posed a threat to the global economy. The disastrous impact on global trade caused by the crash of a cargo ship, Ever Given, causing economic losses of almost $9.6 billion, highlights the significance of the Suez Canal. It provides great economic benefits to Egypt. In 2022, it contributed 8 billion USD to the Egyptian economy. In the fiscal year 2023, the canal set a novel record of generating 9.4 billion USD in annual revenue, which demonstrates its ever-growing economic significance.
The Ben-Gurion Canal holds the potential to compete with the Suez Canal. The idea of construction of this canal resurfaced at the time of the Abraham Accords in 2021. Israel stated that it would launch this project in the middle of the same year. However, the project did not start in 2021. Gaza is supposed to be one of the major obstacles in the successful construction of this canal. The project will link the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea via the Gulf of Aqaba’s southern side. The proposed route for this canal includes the Jordanian border and the port city of Eilat, passing through the Negev (Naqab) Mountain Range. The canal would then turn to a northern side to circumvent Gaza before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. Several sources state that the final port of this canal will be established in Gaza.
Ben-Gurion Canal will cost less if Gaza is razed and its citizens are displaced. Allegedly, the Israeli authorities intend to reduce costs by cutting corners and diverting the Ben-Gurion canal straight from the middle of the Palestinian enclave. As per reports, almost 80 percent of the population of Gaza, 1.7 million people, have already been displaced forcefully. The construction of this new canal would impinge the Egyptian economy to a great extent. Furthermore, it will also decrease the dependence of the United States and other Western countries on Egypt. The latter holds cordial relations with Russia. Both enjoy healthy trade relations, which are improving rapidly. In 2022, mutual trade between the two states reached $6 billion, almost 30 percent more as compared to the previous year. Besides Russia, it also enjoys fraternal relations with China. Egypt and China signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2014 to enhance their cooperation in defense, military, and economic domains. Relations between the two sides are growing due to the increasing economic support of China under the Silk Road project. Egypt also aspires to become a member of BRICS, which would further cement its relations with Russia and China and will be considered an official member of the organization in 2024. This further perturbs the Western countries due to the increasing potential of a rival of the World Bank and increasing campaign for de-dollarization. Western states are already worried that BRICS dominate world trade. Enhancing cordiality between China, Russia, and Egypt has also raised concerns among the Western states. They perceived that it would be detrimental to their economy and trade through the Suez Canal. This is one of the factors which makes the Western countries support Israel’s massacre in Gaza as they seek the construction of the Ben Gurion Canal to secure their trade and economy.
Muhammad Hamza Tariq – is a research analyst, author, and political observer from South Asia. Currently, he is working as an independent researcher and journalist, exclusively for the online magazine, “New Eastern Outlook”