Smuggling tunnel in Gaza (archive)
Photo: AFP
Light at the end of Gaza tunnel could be new car
Israel wants to close down smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza Strip, but tunnelers have become so good it's now possible to drive a car through them, literally
There once was a time when a car had to come through the tunnels piece by piece, but Hamdi Abu Karesh recently got a 2010 Hyundai Elantra delivered to him intact.
"It's a unique feeling," said Abu Karesh, 60, whose shiny new saloon was smuggled in from Sinai via a wide tunnel, to beat the blockade maintained by Israel and Egypt for the past three years.
"There is nothing like driving a brand new car."
Egypt-Gaza Border
Ali Waked and AP
Tunnel operators in Strip say ruling Islamist movement issue the order late Wednesday for unknown reasons; Hamas says tunnels will continue to operate as long as blockade not lifted
Gaza tunnelers trying to satisfy pent-up demand for all sorts of goods prohibited by Israel first began bringing in cars in pieces and reassembling them in Gaza. Now there are tunnels big enough to drive through.
"Only those who have money and want to drive a new car can afford one smuggled from Egypt," dealer Eyad Al-Araeer said.
Car smuggling also is risky. Buyers have to pay up front in case of slip-ups. Egyptian security last month confiscated a shipment of 41 vehicles, inflicting serious losses on dealers and clients alike.
But even used cars in Gaza cost way over the average because of the blockade and spare parts are very pricey.
Bad business
Palestinian entrepreneurs have smuggled everything from food to fuel to livestock through hundreds of tunnels to Egypt's side of the border, and Hamas has brought in weapons to maintain its armed resistance to Israel, which it does not recognize.
But recently the sound of generators has faded and the dust raised by thousands of tunnel workers hauling merchandise into the blockaded enclave is settling.
Tunnelers say much of the business is on hold, due to a new steel wall Cairo is installing underground to block the smuggling, plus its stepped-up security campaign against Egyptians helping Palestinians to bring in goods.
"I have been unable to get anything through for two weeks, so I am closing it," Abu Hamza said before sealing the shaft of his tunnel with a wooden board.
"Not even a straw can get through, not as much as a thread," he added.
Abu Hamza said he had sent home 15 workers who used to work two shifts because of the Egyptian clamp-down. Security men from Hamas confirm the trade has shrunk dramatically. Workers now number in the hundreds rather than thousands.
Israel recently began to ease up on its blockade of the Gaza Strip, allowing in some goods it used to ban, such as clothes and shoes and, this week, wood and aluminum.
That will dent profits for traders already holding stocks of such materials smuggled from Egypt at a premium.
"Merchants pay a fee for things they bring through tunnels so when Israel allows in similar goods their prices will be cheaper," Abu Hamza said.
"If it lifted the ban on imports of goods these tunnels would become unnecessary."
