JERUSALEM: Egypt has stepped up efforts to halt arms smuggling into Gaza since the end of the 22-day war on the strip s Hamas rulers, the head of Israeli domestic intelligence said on Sunday.
There has been a gradual improvement in Egypt s activity to halt smuggling into Gaza, a senior government official quoted Yuval Diskin as telling the cabinet meeting.
When there is information on smuggling they act swiftly and effectively. But there has not been a halt to smuggling, he added.
Since Israel and Hamas declared mutual ceasefires on January 18, ending the Jewish state s deadliest onslaught on the territory, some 45 tons of weapons-manufacturing material have been smuggled into the strip, Diskin said.
Weapons, as well as foodstuffs and other supplies, are smuggled into Gaza via tunnels linking Egypt and the territory that Israel has kept sealed to all but essential humanitarian aid since Hamas seized power in June 2007. -AFP
