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Rafah Tunnel Solution: Israel Invites Bids for Gaza Channel
JPost Reg Req’d - EFL
The construction department of the Defense Ministry on Thursday published a tender inviting contractors to submit bids for a variable-depth channel "in the southern Gaza Strip" (Philadelphi Route) near Rafah to try and prevent the smuggling of weapons via tunnels into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The official announcement, which was placed in the "Ha’aretz" Hebrew daily, said contractors would be able to take part in an organized visit to the area so that they would be able to make on-the-spot assessments before making their bids. The tender invites bids by July 12. The tender is for the dredging a channel some four kilometers in length and with a variable depth ranging from 15-25 meters.

Several alternatives were put forward in the past for trying to thwart the tunnels constructed between Rafah and the Egyptian side of the border that have been used to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip. Concern has grown following the seizure of the Karine A ship loaded with arms supplied by Iran and brokered by Hizbullah that were destined for Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza. The main concern is to prevent the infiltration into Palestinian hands of long-range mortars and Katyusha rockets that could be fired from open spaces at communities deeper inside Israel. The issue has taken on greater significance in light of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s now government-approved disengagement plan regarding Gaza and the potential military ramifications.

One of the alternatives previously considered was to widen the Philadelphi route to up to five kilometers for its entire length, but this was rejected because of humanitarian and legal issues relating to the large number of Palestinian homes that would have to be demolished. Another possibility was that of a kind of moat or dry channel alongside the existing route but these were also rejected because of the prohibitive cost. Nevertheless, IDF planners have been trying to conceive plans that would make it more difficult for the tunnel builders and smugglers and it appears that the tender issued on Thursday marks the beginning of turning the approved idea into practice.
Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=35724