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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Egypt: Massive smuggled goods depot discovered near Gaza |
| 2009-08-22 |
| Ma'an -- Egyptian security forces on Friday said they had discovered the largest store of goods ever prepped for transfer to Gaza via the Strip's vast network of smuggling tunnels. Speaking with Ma'an's correspondent in Cairo, Egyptian security sources claimed the storehouse, filled with goods estimated to be worth millions of US dollars, was discovered along the border with Gaza as the result of a tip. "We received information on a secret storehouse 200 meters from the border with large amounts of goods set to be smuggled to Gaza through tunnels, and in exchange for large amounts of money," said one official familiar with the operation. He explained that security forces stormed the facility soon after learning its location, and that it was "the first time such a large amount of goods worth millions of dollars was being smuggled to Gaza on the occasion of Ramadan." Egyptian authorities said the goods included amounts of wood, glass, air conditioners, printers, fax machines, refrigerators, fertilizers, crude plastic, metal containers, tires, carpets, and large quantities of sweets, nuts, and foodstuffs used during Ramadan. Since Israel and Egypt imposed a devastating blockade on the Strip in 2007, tunnels have become the only reliable means of moving goods into Gaza. Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities said they discovered a warehouse along the border filled with digging and construction supplies, including generators, electric cables, five large floodlights, and nine rolls of barbed wire. A third storage depot was found containing three motors for both fuel and water pumps, as well as 200 wood boards of varying sizes, the security sources said. According to the quoted officials, Egyptian efforts had increased around the same time that the country's leader, Hosni Mubarak, departed for Washington last week, as well as the start of Ramadan, which begins on Saturday. Nevertheless, the same authorities said large amounts of goods were en route to the besieged coastal strip during the Muslim holy month, and that they would enter through Israel's Kerem Shalom and Al-Ouja crossings. These tunnels, originally built to smuggle weapons into Gaza, have become a life source for Gazans providing them with a variety of commercial goods that are banned by Israel. The tunnel industry provides Gazans with food, clothes, cigarettes, fuel, medicine, and hundreds of other items made scarce by the blockade. It is believed that over 200 tunnels flow under the Philadelphi Corridor (the Gaza-Egypt border). Built by private contractors, the tunnels often start and end in residents' basements and living rooms, connecting the Egyptian side of the city of Rafah with the Gazan side. |
| Posted by:Fred |