Official: Hamas willing to close down tunnels
Published 21 May 2013 18:24
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=597804

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Hamas government in Gaza is willing to close down
all smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border once a commercial crossing
opens, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

"We do not want the tunnels in the first place," said Ghazi Hamad. "They
burden citizens and cause hundreds of fatalities, but they are essential
because there is no alternative."

"The tunnels issue can be resolved by finding a solution that balances the
security needs of Egypt and the humanitarian needs of the Gaza Strip through
lawful commercial transactions monitored by both," he added in a statement.

The tunnel industry thrived under Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip,
providing a lifeline by smuggling goods into the besieged enclave. Egypt has
cracked down on the network, flooding tunnels with sewage over fears that
they are being used to smuggle weapons and fighters into the restive Sinai
Peninsula.

Egypt's reopening of the Rafah crossing on its border with Gaza in May 2011
eased travel for Palestinians, many of whom had not been able to leave the
enclave since 2007. However, commercial goods do not pass through the
terminal, and Palestinians in Gaza still rely on the tunnels.

On Friday, Egyptian police closed the Rafah terminal in protest at the
kidnapping by gunmen of seven Egyptian servicemen, several of whom worked at
the crossing.

Hamad said the closure had added to the misery of Palestinians in Gaza,
particularly students and sick people stranded at the border.

He added that Israel was the only beneficiary of strained relations between
Egypt and Gaza, and that residents of Gaza suffered the most from the
tension.

Egyptian authorities kept the Rafah crossing with Gaza closed for a fifth
consecutive day on Tuesday, despite efforts by Palestinian officials to
reopen the terminal.

A Gaza based center for human rights said that over 2,400 Palestinians were
stranded at both sides of the crossing. The group urged Egyptian authorities
to open the crossing and "exclude it from the internal affairs of both
sides."

Passengers told Ma'an on Monday that they were making do with cardboard and
newspapers to sleep at night, and to avoid the heat of the sun during the
day. Some sleep in mosques, and very few can afford to pay for a hotel room
in el-Arish.

Some passengers have managed to enter Gaza through smuggling tunnels.