Report: Egyptian forces hunt tunnels dug between Gaza, Egypt
London based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reports Egyptian security forces launch large-scale operation aimed at sealing off smugglers' tunnels between Egyptian, Palestinian sides of Rafah; eleven tunnels cut off so far
The Egyptian security forces have launched a large-scale operation in search of tunnels recently dug between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, London based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the security forces have proof indicating "Palestinian smugglers have resumed use of the tunnels, after taking advantage of the recent events (at the Gaza-Egyptian border) to prevent their collapse."
The tunnels, the paper quoted security sources as saying, "are difficult to locate, seeing how many of them are located in homes along Egyptian Rafah and carry through to Palestinian Rafah… the tunnel entries are usually hidden inside closets or bathrooms."
Homes suspected of having such tunnels, added the report, are under constant watch by Egypt's security forces.
Many of the tunnels in question are dug on the Palestinian side first, following a serpentine path in order to make them harder to detect. Many have more than one entry or exit way, for the exact same reason.
Salam, of the Egyptian Rafah's resident told al-Sharq al-Awsat that the town's people are nothing more than mediators: "We have nothing to do with digging the tunnels – the Palestinians do all that, right up to the Egyptian side... they send us a list of demands, we prepare them and the Palestinian side pays for them in dollars."
The Egyptian security forces, said the newspaper, have been gathering intelligence on smugglings and smugglers using the tunnels. During December 2007 and January 2008, the Egyptian had uncovered 11 tunnels – the longest of them was one mile long and 56 feet deep.
Meanwhile the Egyptian newspaper al-Masri al-Yum reported Tuesday that Egyptian security forces are preventing 800 Egyptian citizens who crossed over to Gaza from returning to Sinai.
According to the report, Egyptian security forces operating in the Sinai Peninsula detained an additional 570 Egyptians who were able to cross back from Gaza. Some 400 of them – women and children – have already been released.
Egyptian security forces are trying to establish what – of any – connection those still detained have with Hamas.
