The sources said this marked the latest in a series of Bedouin attacks
on Egyptian troops assigned to stop smuggling to the Gaza Strip. They said
the Bedouins have attacked warehouses with confiscated goods as well as
troops at roadblocks around Rafah.
About 1,000 Egyptian troops have been assigned to stop smuggling to
Rafah, connected to the Gaza Strip by an estimated 800 tunnels. The troops
have been searching homes for tunnels, and destroyed about 50 of them in
February 2009.
"We believe that the more successful our campaign, the harder the
smugglers will fight back," the security source said.
Hamas has demanded that Egypt open the border terminal at Rafah in an
effort to increase the volume of imports to the Gaza Strip. Officials said
Hamas has submitted a request for the immediate entry of 1,000 containers
for temporary housing of Palestinians displaced by the war with Israel.
Hamas was also said to have requested aluminum, steel and electrical
equipment.
A Hamas technical team has been discussing the request with the Mubarak
regime in Cairo. So far, Israel has rejected the Hamas plan.
