In the period before Operation Cast Lead, Israeli officials said the aim of the
blockade of Gaza was to keep the Strip’s economy on the brink of collapse, a US
diplomatic cable obtained by Norwegian paper Aftenposten revealed on
Wednesday.
The cable, dated November 3, 2008, and released by
whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks, suggested that Israeli intelligence agencies
and politicians said that the plan was to keep the Gazan economy functioning at
the lowest possible level without causing a humanitarian crisis.
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US
efforts to pressure Israel into allowing larger money transfers into Gaza were
unsuccessful, according to the cable.
In December 2008, the US offered to
transfer NIS 250 million in an attempt to ease the situation in Gaza but Defense
Ministry official Maj.-Gen.
(res.) Amos Gilad refused to allow it, saying
that the Palestinians should not receive anything, the cable said.
The
National Security Council’s counter-terrorism head Danny Arditi said in July
2007 that the goal of the blockade was to damage Hamas’ economic position in
Gaza and buy time for an increase in Fatah support, according to anther US
diplomatic cable released to Aftenposten.
