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| Israel-Palestine |
| Rafah Tunnel Solution: Israel Invites Bids for Gaza Channel |
| 2004-06-17 |
| 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 |
| #12 I'll admit my anatomy class was a while ago, but that swimming/lodging path seems a little off. Except with the LLL - everything about them originates out their ass. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-17 10:47:34 PM |
| #11 zactly! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-17 10:10:26 PM |
| #10 "It then swims up the anus and lodges itself somewhere in the urinary tract with its spines" Not merely clever Frank -- it must come equipped with its own anatomy book ! How the hell do they find their way from the *anus* over to the *urinary tract* ? |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2004-06-17 10:07:09 PM |
| #9 Candiru: "It then swims up the anus and lodges itself somewhere in the urinary tract with its spines" that is one clever parasite - on a DU poster I guess it would be a cranial parasite? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-17 9:57:23 PM |
| #8 Neither crocodiles nor piranha. Candiru. Search Google if you've never heard of them before. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-17 9:48:31 PM |
| #7 That has a better than even chance of bringing down the Egyptian government and installing hardline Islamacists instead .... |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-06-17 9:44:52 PM |
| #6 A better solution would be to turn Gaza over to the Egyptians and hold them responsible for the Palestinians. Drop a bomb on Cairo for every Paleo boomer to come out of Gaza. See how long it would take Mubarek and crew to settle Hamas' hash. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-06-17 9:41:52 PM |
| #5 Should be great when they fill it up. Dozens of Old Faithfuls suddenly shooting up out of peoples houses on both sides of the border. I hope the Monster seats will be up on top of the wall by then so lots of folks get to see it. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-06-17 9:34:45 PM |
| #4 I still say this is going to be a boon for crew in the ME. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-17 4:45:28 PM |
| #3 I thought the added request for crocodiles was a little excessive. Agreed, danking70, the piranha stocks should be more than sufficient. And talk about thoughtful! Even though Israel has closed the Erez industrial zone, they're going to install a nice little deep water port for the Gaza strip anyway. What a bunch of swell folks! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-17 3:36:21 PM |
| #2 I thought the added request for crocodiles was a little excessive. |
| Posted by: danking70 2004-06-17 3:30:36 PM |
| #1 Necessity is the mother of invention. Talk about out of the box! |
| Posted by: Michael 2004-06-17 2:15:12 PM |