RAFAH - On the eve of the intifada, there were five to seven tunnels for smuggling Egyptian contraband, but more than 30 tunnels have been built over the years since September 2000, according to a Rafah merchant who ran smuggling tunnels to bring in merchandise from Egypt.
He says the large profits from the smuggling of weapons - mostly Kalashnikovs - and ammunition to Rafah "to whoever wants to buy" has overcome fears of arrest, house demolitions or getting killed.
However, he adds, Israel's military pressure and the steps taken by Egypt against the smugglers make things very difficult for them. The proof of that, he says,is the high price of Kalashnikovs, currently between NIS 25-29 per bullet - and there's a lack of ammunition in Rafah. Indeed, people in Rafah say the armed men are being very careful about every shot they take.
The tunnels are dug at night, with short-handled hoes, says the merchant, and it takes about five months to dig an 80-meter tunnel. A critical element in the digging is getting rid of the dirt without the neighbors or Palestinian Authority officials noticing. Ever since the Israel Defense Forces demolished the neighborhoods along the border, he says, widening the Philadelphi corridor, a tunnel can take a year to dig.
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