Israel hopes an underground wall that Egypt is building along its border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to stop smuggling will be completed by the end of the year, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday. Cairo has played down the scope of the work along the 14-km frontier, but the Islamist group Hamas condemns it as a "wall of death" that could complete an Israeli-led blockade of Gaza by eliminating smugglers' tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.Rico says maybe, when they're done, we can hire them to put in some barriers in the Philadelphia corridor...
"The Egyptians are working on a project which I hope will be completed by the end of the year," said the senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This project, which involves laying a steel barrier twenty meters underground as well as a security system, should stop most of the smuggling along the Philadelphi corridor," the official said, referring to the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Israel has long lobbied Egypt to tackle the cross-border smuggling, which supplies Palestinians with both munitions and basic commercial goods lacking in Gaza because of the Israeli blockade on the rest of Gaza's land border. "I can't say we are completely satisfied, but we have noted that the Egyptians are taking action," the official said.
Senior Israeli and Egyptian officials meet regularly to discuss regional security issues.
Egyptian officials have said steel tubes are being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose. Unlike Israel, Egypt maintains relations with Hamas and has an Islamist opposition movement. Citing an unnamed Egyptian intelligence source, Israeli media reports have said the wall will be rigged with sensors and pressurized hoses to flood tunnels with seawater.
Tunnel builders say some 3,000 underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week offensive against Gaza over a year ago, but only 150 are still operating after the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.
Israel says Hamas has used the tunnels to replenish its rocket and small-arms arsenal since the war. Israeli officials have said Hamas has also increased the range of its short-range rockets and acquired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
Since the Gaza conflict, Hamas has been trying to stop other militant groups from firing rockets into Israel to avoid retaliation. A previously unknown group, Ansar al-Sunna, claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Israel on 18 March that killed a Thai hothouse worker, the first fatal rocket attack for more than a year.
28 March 2010
Another 'wall of death'
Dan Williams has the story in The Washington Post:
The “Washington Post” is often used in school classrooms in the USA for “current event” assignments in History classes, especially in World History classes. This article deserved some much needed editing! See the original article below and through the link to the Washington Post.
ReplyDelete“Israel hopes USA – Egypt completes Gaza wall soon. Deadline: December 2010″
AUSTIN (Fair Media) – Israel hopes an underground wall that the USA – Egypt is building along its border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to stop trading will be completed by the end of the year, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday.
Cairo has played down the scope of the work along the 14-km (8-mile) frontier, but the Islamist group Hamas condemns it as a “wall of death” that could complete an Israeli-led apartheid of Gaza by eliminating traders’ tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.
“The United States (US Engineering Corps) is working on a project which I hope will be completed by the end of the year,” said the senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“This project, which involves laying a steel barrier 20 meters underground as well as a security system, should stop most of the trading along the Philadelphi (corridor),” the official said, referring to the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Citing an unnamed Egyptian intelligence source, Israeli media reports have said the wall will be rigged with sensors and pressurized hoses to flood tunnels with seawater.
US tax dollars are paying for the entire project along the border, since Egypt is completely unable to finance it due to its own economic hardships.
Israel has long lobbied Egypt to tackle the cross-border trading, which supplies Palestinians with basic commercial goods lacking in Gaza because of the Israeli apartheid blockade on the rest of Gaza’s land border.
“I can’t say we are completely satisfied, but we have noted that the Americans are taking action,” the official said.
Jewish opposition movements within Israel risk arrest and detainment when they try to protest to stop their government from its violations of basic human rights. These groups are one of the few hopes that change will come, leading to a safer Israel, and equal rights for the Palestinian population Israel controls under apartheid.
Egyptian officials have said steel tubes are being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose. Official comment from the US Engineering Corps was not available.
Israel maintains relations with Hamas as evidenced by negotiations for prisoner releases and bargaining deals.
Tunnel builders say some 3,000 underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week massacre on Gaza’s civilian population over a year ago, but only 150 are still operating after the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.
Palestinians in Gaza used the tunnels to provide basic necessities to its population of 1.2 million people since the siege on Gaza by Israel.
(editing by Gail Evelyn Alfar)