Gaza smuggling resumes after IDF withdrawal

[Scurrilous]

Hours after IDF completes withdrawal from Gaza, AP footage shows Palestinians in Rafah filling fuel truck with petrol that came through cross-border tunnel from Egypt; workers filmed clearing blocked tunnels

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3660022,00.html

<snip>

"Some smuggling tunnels under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt have begun to operate again despite heavy Israeli bombing during a three-week offensive, local residents said on Wednesday.

Israel has threatened to respond militarily should Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, try to rearm through the tunnel network that was also used by ordinary Palestinians to bring in commercial goods and get around an Israeli blockade.

Residents of the border town of Rafah said Israeli deep penetration bombs had put most of the tunnels out of commission but some were undamaged and operating again.

The identity of some residents who witnessed the smuggling activity could not be revealed for fear of reprisals from militants and smugglers.

"I saw them bring up fuel from one of the tunnels which is still working," said a Rafah resident who witnessed the activity.

Another resident said that on Sunday a shipment of kerosene stoves was smuggled in through the tunnels and a third said that on Wednesday some fuel was transferred from Egypt. None of the residents mentioned weapons smuggling.

Tunnelers and smugglers were suspicious of visiting reporters and warned them not to take pictures. But big generators were running and men were clearly at work behind tents of canvas and plastic sheeting."

[sandnsea]

1. When they're caught smuggling rockets

please post. I have no problem with them smuggling the basic necessities of living as long as Iraelies keep the roads blocked.

[Donnachaidh]

2. Considering the Israelis cut off virtually everything, including WATER

Do you really think to elicit outrage from folks who have been watching the systematic destruction of the Palestinians?

Get back to us when you find the rockets. And oh yeah, aluminum tubes DON'T count. :sarcasm:

[Vegasaurus]

4. The rockets come disassembled

from Iran.

Please do keep up.

Systematic destruction of the Palestinians?

Israel will have to try much harder to eliminate them than they are doing.

[stillcool]

5. just like the one's Iran didn't..

smuggle into Iran? You know, all those weapons the United States 'lost'? I would think it's long past time for the countries of the Middle-east to join together an protect their own. Maybe Russia or China will help them out.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[azurnoir]

7. Oh but sewer pipes do count

which is why Gaza will not be allowed to rebuild it's sewer systems

[bunnies]

3. Fuel?

What next? Food and water? Those bastards! :eyes:

[Scurrilous]

8. NYTimes: As Israeli Bombing Stops, Gazans Get Busy Rebuilding Damaged Tunnels

<snip>

"It was Friday, the Muslim day of rest, but Gaza’s border with Egypt was a hive of activity. Men scraped sandy soil out of holes that had served as tunnels for smuggling, and were one of the main targets of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Now, less than a week after it ended, Gazans were back, plunging deep underground with lamps to carry rocky loads of soil out on pulleys.

"Everybody’s busy rebuilding now,” said a manager of one digging team. “In a month, it will be back to normal.”

The defiant pose seemed surprisingly brazen in light of recent events: Israel said smuggling tunnels were a prime concern, after Hamas rockets, in attacking Gaza, and it hit dozens of them in airstrikes during the war. But the tunnels are the principal livelihood for many people here, and as soon as the bombing stopped, they were right back in them with their shovels.

The revival may challenge what Israel sees as one of its main accomplishments in the war, crushing Hamas’s ability to rearm, and has drawn bitter reactions from residents, who say it is proof the war was a useless enterprise.

"The war was for nothing,” said Mahmoud Abu Adnan, a grocery store owner."

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