Although Israel has boosted supplies, Egypt’s crackdown on smuggling tunnels has raised prices in the Strip, angered residents, and cost the Islamist government a fortune. It’s still training terrorists, though
Two Palestinian fishermen row their raft into the sea, hoping to catch some fish to sell and bring home a few shekels. Today, the rest of Gaza beach is empty. On weekends, it is packed with people seeking recreation and relaxation.
The northernmost homes of the al-Shati refugee camp, a few kilometers south, are visible in the distance. This is the home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Further south are the Gaza beach hotels, generally empty except for the foreign journalists who stay from time to time.
This single position where I’m taking in the view is one of the biggest headaches for the Israeli security forces. Those fishermen could, theoretically, row out to sea towards the imaginary border inside the water and easily swim to the Israeli side in a matter of seconds.
This hasn’t happened. For now, Hamas has no interest in launching a terrorist attack from Gaza or initiating military confrontations.
But Egypt’s exhaustive crackdown on Hamas, and on its smuggling tunnels running into the Sinai, is giving rise to fears that the Islamist group may attempt to escalate tensions with Israel, in a bid to force Egypt to open the Sinai border for commerce and trade. That’s why in recent weeks it has been the Israelis, of all people, who have attempted to dissuade Cairo from enforcing a hermetic blockade on the Gaza Strip. Squeezing Gaza too tight will likely cause upheaval in the region, which will result in a new round of violence between Israel and Hamas.
For most Gazans, though, the closing of the tunnels has translated into a new reality in which, while most products are still available, they are much more expensive than before Egypt made its move.
A city underground
During the years of Israel’s tight blockade on Gaza, from 2007 to 2010, hundreds of tunnels were dug out, very close together, along the narrow strip of land that forms the border between Egypt and Gaza.
The spokesperson for the Egyptian Border Police reported last week that the Egyptians have closed 1,055 tunnels since January 2011, 794 of them in the nine months since January 2013.
The tunnels were one of the Hamas government’s primary projects. The industry employed up to 40,000 people, and provided nearly 40% of the government’s budget. The tunnels were of varying lengths and widths, but the majority shared a purpose – to smuggle in all types of merchandise, from missiles and military equipment to snacks and cigarettes. Subverting the Israeli blockade, the industry proved highly profitable, too, for private entrepreneurs.
Hamas monitored the tunnels closely and heavily taxed the tunnel owners. Each entrepreneur would pay taxes to the Rafah Municipality for a license to begin digging. Once the tunnel was dug, taxes were charged on all products brought through it, but the goods were still cheaper than anything flowing legitimately through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
A seven shekel ($2) pack of cigarettes from Egypt, for example, would sell for 10 shekels (almost $3) in the Gaza shops; the tunnel owner made two shekels and Hamas one shekel per smuggled pack.
read more here--
http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-gaza-hamas-feels-the-squeeze/
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