MEMRI: No. 2161|May 15, 2009
Al-Arabiya TV Report about the Smuggling Industry through the Rafah Tunnels

Following are excerpts from a TV documentary on the Rafah tunnels, which
aired on Al-Arabiya TV on May 15, 2009.

To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2161.htm

Reporter: Welcome to "Rafah Duty Free," as it is jokingly called by some of
the people of Gaza. This is Al-Najma Square, in the center of Rafah. Here is
the market of products coming through the tunnels - a market that has become
the hub of the local economy, since the renewal of the siege on the Gaza
Strip.
If not for the tunnels, we wouldn't find basic household appliances like
this in Rafah. These tunnels are the lifeline of the Gaza Strip. This is the
only place where you don't feel you are in a besieged city. All products are
available - electronic appliances, flour, sugar, and all other food
products - and even diapers and Viagra pills. It is also the largest market
for fuel in the Gaza Strip. The tunnel trade is estimated at $200 million
annually, yielding huge profits for the Palestinian and Egyptian
tunnel-owners.
Salesman: These are all Egyptian products. These are Egyptian teacups. This
is Egyptian too, and so is this. It's all Egyptian.
Reporter: Where does this all come from?
Salesman: From Egypt.
Reporter: How?
Salesman: Through the tunnels.
[...]
Reporter: Some 800 tunnels have been dug along the Rafah border, in an area
no larger than three kilometers between Tel Al-Zu'rab and the Brasil
neighborhood.
Israel has destroyed many of the tunnels, but the Palestinians began to
reconstruct them as soon as the aggression ended. The border has become
teeming with activity, known as "the reconstruction of the tunnels." Let's
enter the world of the tunnels.
Tunnel builder: We have to repair the damage caused to our tunnel by the
attack. It will take ten to fifteen days to fix the damage. We have been
digging this tunnel for approximately two months.
Reporter: How long ago did you dig this tunnel?
Tunnel builder: We prepared it some six months ago, when the siege got
worse, and we felt that the siege was suffocating us. This is the
transformer which provides electricity to the motor we use to life things.

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