(ConservativeSense.com) – After President Joe Biden promised to construct a pier to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the project is now looking to cost taxpayers at least $320 million, according to Defense Department officials.
The latest projection is about twice as much as the original estimate when Biden announced the projection in March. That plan would construct a pier in the Mediterranean Sea, just off the coast of the Gaza Strip, to help facilitate the delivery of aid to Palestinians suffering from the ongoing Israel/Hamas war.
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the cost has not only risen but “has exploded.” Wicker called the effort a “dangerous” one that would yield “marginal benefit” while costing the American taxpayers over $300 million to operate the new pier for just 90 days.
The pier is set to get into service sometime this month. A week prior, on April 25, Hamas fighters reportedly exchanged fire with Israeli Defense Forces near the pier’s marshaling area. The attack raised concerns about possible risks to US troops and the implications of any of those troops working on the project dying from an attack. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder assuaged those concerns by claiming the pier is out of “mortar range.”
In a statement published on Tuesday, April 23, Wicker called the mission “ill-conceived” from the beginning and warned that Hamas “terrorists” are “preparing to thwart” the coming and going of ships. In the process, Wicker said that would put American troops in harm’s way and called on the president to “abandon this project immediately” before any troops were injured.
While Biden continues to advocate for aid to Gaza, playing both sides of the issue in the eyes of many voters by also supporting aid for Israel, critics of the president believe sending resources to help the embattled Palestinians will only end up helping their radical militant leaders in Hamas. If true, Hamas may welcome the pier’s completion and operation.
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