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. 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 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. …
Food, electrical goods and even cars, sliced into four parts and reassembled in Gaza, have been brought through the tunnels. They have also been an important supply route for construction materials restricted by the blockade. …
Hamas has a visible presence in the tunnelling zone, but only to register workers’ complaints against their employers and to prevent the smuggling of drugs and weapons by regular tunnellers. … Hamas and other militant factions are believed to have their own tunnels through which they bring their supply of arms. Access the full article>>
