“Israel”, U.S., and U.K. Demonstrated Vulnerability Against Yemeni Attacks, Says Umm Al-Rashrash Port Director
The Executive Director of the occupied port of Umm Al-Rashrash (Eilat), Gideon Golbar, has stated that Israel and the American-British coalition have proven to be incapable and fearful in the face of Yemeni attacks. These attacks have led to the complete halt of port activity, and this inability has only strengthened the Yemenis.
Golbar confirmed that shipping companies do not trust the coalition’s ability to protect them and resume their voyages to the port via the Red Sea. He pointed out that the company managing the port is incurring significant monthly losses due to the closure, despite receiving compensation from the Zionist enemy government.
The Hebrew economic site “Calcalist” published a report on Sunday stating that two weeks after the start of the “Iron Swords” operation in Gaza, specifically on October 19 (the beginning of the Yemeni attacks on the Zionist entity), the Yemeni threat to Israel began. This threat prominently focused on Eilat, which has suffered several attacks by drones and cruise missiles in recent months.
Inside the southern tourist city, the biggest victim was the local port, which remained empty in recent months due to the threat to ship movement in the Red Sea.
Golbar said, “Unfortunately, from the end of November until today, only 2-3 bulk cargo ships have arrived at us.” He added, “There is no activity in the port of Eilat, and it is important to emphasize that this is not due to poor management, and not because the employees are not professional; but because of the organization (the terrorist Houthis),” according to his expression.
According to Golbar, “Israel and the coalition countries have proven to be fearful, weak, and hesitant, and therefore the Houthis are raising their heads more and more.”
In response to a question posed by the site about whether sending international, American, and European forces increases the chances of ships arriving at the port, Golbar said, “Unfortunately, no, as shipping companies are not ready to trust the coalition countries, and no one is ready to bear the risks and high insurance prices, so, I do not understand why Israel does not find a solution.”
Regarding the possibility of dispensing with the Suez Canal and sufficing with the Cape of Good Hope route, Golbar said, “I do not think we can dispense with the Suez Canal, many ships do not reach Ashdod and Aqaba either, and in the end, the cost of goods will rise, if not now, then within a month or two.”
About the port’s losses, Golbar said, “We lose up to 10 million shekels a month (about 2.7 million dollars) we have salary costs and other things, the Israel Ports Company helps us a lot, and the Ministry of Transport is also supportive, and I very much hope that this will move to the Ministry of Finance as well, we are not a store that sells consumer goods like shoes or clothes, we are a national infrastructure for Israel that transports goods through us, we are a border crossing, imagine that Ben Gurion Airport is closed tomorrow and no one does anything, I do not wish for a war to break out in the north and for missiles to reach the port of Haifa and the port of Ashdod, but after that, what will everyone say? Israel will be under siege. Therefore, we must now open the crossing to Eilat.”
Golbar clarified that the company managing the port “received compensation from the government for November and December, but it does not even cover the wages of the employees.”
He said, “As for January, I understood that those living in Eilat are not compensated,” indicating a halt in compensation.
Regarding the economic situation in the city of Umm Al-Rashrash, Golbar said, “For those who want to do business; this is considered a difficult city, unfortunately, as Eilat relies mainly on tourism, which is a very sensitive field to changes, so, the port is an economic anchor for the city of Eilat.”
He added, “During the Corona period, the city was desolate, and the only place that succeeded is the port of Eilat, but today, with the war, there are no tourists coming from abroad, there are people who have been evacuated did not support the economy; because they were really poor, and they did not bring almost anything.”
Regarding the importance of the port of Umm Al-Rashrash, Golbar said, “We must not forget that the port of Eilat is Israel’s southern gateway to the Far East and Australia, it is impossible to put all ports in contact with Europe only, look at what is happening with the Houthis, in order to transport goods to Ashdod, one must go around the Cape of Good Hope, this is why Eilat is a main port, and it is not in vain that the Israeli governments decided that the port of Eilat is a national strategic asset for Israel.”
Regarding the importance of the port for importing cars to the enemy entity, Golbar said, “If you have a ship carrying 4000 cars, then crossing the Suez Canal costs about 500,000 dollars; that is about 125 dollars for each car, where the tax on the car is about 100 % and also on sea freight; that is, there is already a difference of 250 dollars between Ashdod and Eilat, and even with land transport, transport from the port of Eilat will remain cheaper by 100 dollars compared to the port of Ashdod.”
He continued, “In addition to that, the port of Eilat specializes in unloading cars, where we unload about 1200 cars in each shift, compared to other ports that unload 600-700 cars in the shift, and this reduces the amount of time the ship stays in the port, which is expensive time, in addition to that the humidity in Eilat is also less and it is good for storage, and we had other shipments such as exporting potash from the Dead Sea to the Far East, and through us, between 1.8 million and two million tons of potash were exported to India and China.”