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Monday, August 9, 2010     GET REAL

Unemployment up, smuggling down in Gaza's tunnel zone

GAZA CITY — The tunnel smuggling network in the Gaza Strip has sharply declined over the last few months, according to Palestinian sources.

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Sources said the lion's share of the 1,500 tunnels that spanned the Gaza Strip and Egypt have been shut down, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources credited the decline in smuggling tunnels to the construction of Egypt's steel underground barrier along 10 kilometers of the Gaza-Sinai border.

The sources said most of the manpower that constructed and operated the smuggling tunnels has been dismissed. They said no more than 3,000 people still work in the industry, down from 20,000 in early 2009.


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"Very few tunnels are operating on a steady basis," a Palestinian source said. "Most have been abandoned."

The sources said about 100 to 150 tunnels were still operating between Gaza and Sinai. They said these tunnels, most of them controlled by the Hamas regime, were built underneath the Egyptian barrier, said to extend up to 30 meters below the surface.

A Palestinian tunnel operator, identified only as Abu Ahmed, said any new tunnels must be dug much deeper than their predecessors. But he said the profitability of the tunnels has dropped sharply amid Israel's decision to allow the import of construction material and other goods to the Gaza Strip, at prices often 50 percent cheaper than in Egypt.

"Residents are waiting for Israel to allow cement into Gaza, which they prefer over Egyptian-smuggled cement because of its superior quality," Abu Ahmed said. "It's also cheaper at 400 shekels [$110]."

Tunnel operators said many Gaza merchants have stopped ordering goods through the tunnel network. They said the merchants would rather wait to see whether the goods would arrive legally and much cheaper from Israel.

"The tunnels that bring in weapons and goods banned by Israel are still operating," the source said. "But they are meant to benefit Hamas and the militias."



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