CAIRO: Starting December 2009, reports circulated that Egypt is building an underground wall along its border with Gaza to combat the smuggling tunnels. With Gaza under a tight Israeli blockade, the tunnels have become the lifeline of the Strip, used for supplying its residents with foods, medicine and even toys and electrical supplies.
Weapons, however, are also smuggled through the tunnels.
Egypt said smuggling and the tunnels in general pose a threat to its security and has begun installing steel sheets in the ground along its border with Gaza. Inspite of initial no-comment policy when the new wall was reported, government officials later confirmed the construction, describing it as means to protect Egypt’s border.
Bitterlemons International interviewed Abu Murrad, a nom de guerre, a senior commander in Rafah of the Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Bitterlemons International: How big a problem will Egypt’s iron wall pose for Gaza’s underground smuggling industry?
Abu Murrad: It’s not a big problem. There are already holes in the wall, and the Egyptians know this. We’ll go through it or under it. Already there are tunnels deeper than the wall.
This is what we do. When the Israelis were here we smuggled, either for profit or resistance. Whether the border is under Egyptian or Israeli control, smuggling never stopped, never will. The only way to stop the smuggling is to open the borders.
Gazans seem very worried about the wall, though.
People are worried because they don’t know how the tunnels work. They are also concerned about rising prices. The tunnels, after all, are Gaza’s only lifelines. It is through here that everything comes. Without the tunnels, Gaza would starve.
If there are already holes in the wall and the Egyptians know this, why bother with the wall?
Egypt is under pressure to minimize the smuggling. Cairo only wants to show Washington that it’s doing something. Washington wants to appease the pro-Israel lobby that it is pressuring Cairo. Everyone wants to serve their master. But minimizing smuggling is not really in Egypt’s interest.
Why not?
For two reasons. The first is money. Any and all currency in Gaza goes straight under the ground to Egypt. Millions of dollars move under the border every day.
Secondly, the Bedouin in Sinai sold us their old weapons. In other words, there are fewer weapons over there, which suits Cairo very well.
Do you think Cairo is wary of any political fallout should Egypt seal the border?
I don’t think Cairo cares about the political cost. Look, the Arab League has called for the siege [on Gaza] to end, and nothing happened. I don’t see any Arab country working very hard to lift the siege. So why should Cairo care about the political side of things?
Are you not concerned that the wall, or some other measure, will eventually completely seal Gaza from the rest of the world? What would happen then?
There will always be smuggling. But in the unlikely event that the wall somehow blocked the tunnels…? Put yourself in my shoes? What would you do? The wall would be blown to pieces.
This article is published byDAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with bitterlemons-international.org.
