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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel, Egypt squeeze Gaza tunnel business
2009-11-20
[Al Arabiya Latest] Fearing loss of life and money, Palestinians are abandoning tunnels that supply the blockaded Gaza Strip with everything from food to fridges to weapons.

On the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, there is little activity in an area that was once as busy as an industrial zone.

" The situation is very bad. The Egyptians and the Israelis stepped up their campaign. Israel bombards from air. Egypt either pumps gases that kill people, pours water or detonates explosives to destroy the tunnels "
Abu Mohammed, tunnel builder
Many tunnel workers have concluded that the risk of being buried alive by Israeli bombardment and accidental ground collapses or poisoned by gas pumped underground by Egyptian security forces is just not worth it. Around 100 people have been killed in the past year.

"Most of the people closed their tunnels and left," said Abu Mohammed, a tunnel builder who declined to give his full name and covered his face with a red and white Arab headdress.

The number of tunnels that had reached 3,000 a year ago before a three-week Israeli military offensive now stands at several hundred. Of those, workers said just 150 are functional.

It is unknown how many weapons tunnels are functioning.

Highlighting the risks faced by the tunnellers, Israeli warplanes carried out two strikes along the border with Egypt on Thursday, wounding three workers, medical workers said.

"The situation is very bad. The Egyptians and the Israelis stepped up their campaign," Abu Mohammed said. "Israel bombards from air. Egypt either pumps gases that kill people, pours water or detonates explosives to destroy the tunnels," he said.

The tunnels, some of which have existed for decades, have become a vital supply artery for Gaza since 2006 when Israel began to restrict the flow of goods into the enclave after the Hamas Islamist group won a legislative election.

With Egyptian help, the blockade was tightened in 2007 when Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, seized control of Gaza.

Ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival later this month, the remaining tunnels have been bringing cattle into Gaza ready for slaughter. Forty animals were brought through the tunnels overnight, workers at one tunnel said.
That must have been an interesting experience for all involved.
Though Israel has allowed thousands of cattle into Gaza for the holiday, the tunnel workers said there was still demand for the hundreds they were supplying from Egypt.
Posted by:Fred

#2  Ala ISRAELI MIL FORUM > ISRAEL has complained that recent lapses by EGYPT in its effort to formally shut down the tunnels has led to a new resurgence of ILLEGAL ARMS FLOWS TO PALEO MILITANTS IN GAZA-WEST BANK???

* BIGNEWSNETWORK > ISRAEL "MENTALLY" PREPARING IDF PILOTS TO DEAL WITH HIZBOLLAH MISSLE THREATS [Katyushas, MANPADS + other ADS, CURR + FUTURE/
POSSIBLE LR SSBMS supplied by IRAN-SYRIA, etc.].
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-11-20 20:05  

#1  A modest proposal: I suggest we turn over our southern border security - which is crawling with tunnels just south of Tucson - over to the Israeli and Egyptian tunnel destroyers.
Posted by: borgboy   2009-11-20 15:15  

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