CAIRO: Yousef Abu Zuhri, brother of Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, was arrested in Al-Arish Monday night on suspicion of entering Egypt illegally through an underground tunnel.
Abu Zuhri was arrested in a rented apartment on Mustapha Kamel Street in Al-Arish, which is 40 km from Egypt’s border with Gaza. The owner of the flat was also arrested for not alerting the authorities to Abu Zuhri s presence.
According to Rafah-based journalist Mustapha Singer, Abu Zuhri might be taken to Cairo for further questioning regarding how he entered Egypt and that his arrest might be a link to the recently discovered Hezbollah cell that was operating in the area.
Security forces amassed on areas south of Rafah Tuesday at Wadi Amr near Al-Oja crossing after passing through Al-Gora village midway between the town of Rafah and the crossing.
Security forces also descended on the main road in the town of Sheikh Zowayed, 5 km from the Gaza border.
Until press time no raids had been conducted, but a heavy troop presence was seen in those areas. It is unclear whether the security increase was linked to the arrest of Abu Zuhri, but authorities are still searching for some 25 people in the area they suspect are linked to the Hezbollah cell.
Head of the Tagammu party in North Sinai Ashraf El-Hefny said that the arrest of Abu Zuhri was meant to pressure Hamas for dialogue in the negotiations with Fatah in Egypt.
El-Hefny said that there had been a heavy security presence in many areas of Al-Arish since Monday with the aim of seeking out the Hezbollah suspects.
Security forces discovered another smuggling tunnel Monday in Rafah and confiscated an array of goods that had not yet been transported. No arrests were made and the entry was to remain guarded until the tunnel had been destroyed.
Bedouins in Sinai had attempted to protest Saturday south of Rafah against increased security raids in the wake of the Hezbollah cell capture.
Security forces managed to scupper the protest but the assembled Bedouins who gathered near Al-Oja in an area called Abu Hashad decided that another protest would be held on the first of June, especially if the raids continued.
“Because of the Hezbollah case, there has been an increased security campaign and raids on houses, said Democratic Front Party member in Rafah Mohamed El-Menei, “the protest is because of the raids. There are women in these houses and security raids on these homes violate our traditions.
