Gaza border: Why Egypt is building a steel underground wall

[scandal 951]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East...nderground-wall

Gaza border: Why Egypt is building a steel underground wall

Reports from the Gaza border say that Egypt is building an underground wall as deep as 100 feet to stem smuggling in Hamas-controlled tunnels. But there are broader goals, too.

Cairo

Reports that Egypt is building a steel underground wall along its border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip have fueled speculation about what exactly Cairo intends to accomplish with the project, which British newspapers claim is being carried out with the help of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The immediate objective is obvious: to severely disrupt the flourishing smuggling trade carried out in an extensive subterranean network of tunnels under the border. The smugglers provide everything from food to weapons for Gazans, who are largely cut off from the outside world due to an Israeli blockade.

Analysts disagree, however, about Egypt’s broader goals, which appear contradictory and are obscured by the fact that Cairo has yet to acknowledge the existence of the project. But it appears that Egypt is trying to strike a balance between remaining a key ally of the US while at the same time shoring up its position as an influential player in a neighborhood that often views Washington unfavorably.

“Egypt is walking a tightrope between its commitments to Arabs and directly to the Palestinian cause and at the same time its commitment to enhancing international security,” says Gamal Soltan, political analyst at the Al-Ahram Center in Cairo, a government-funded think tank.

But constructing a wall is a significant departure from the mere rhetoric Egypt has used to exert pressure in the past. This time, Egypt’s balancing act might backfire, especially given that fact that the Arab world was highly critical of Egypt for closing the Rafah border during the Israeli incursion on Gaza last year and cooperating with Israel on the economic blockade.

“You have operation Cast Lead basically flattening Gaza and Operation ‘Metal Wall’ on the Egyptian side strangling the Gazan population even further. These are impressions and perceptions that the Egyptian government does not need,” says Adel Iskandar, professor of media and communications at Georgetown University in Washington.

A response to US pressure?

Residents on both sides of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza have reported seeing giant drills and construction crews along the Egyptian side of the boundary, spurring a flurry of reports last week. On Dec 9. the BBC published a map of the project and reported that the completed wall would be six to seven miles long and plunge 60 feet below the ground, while others said it could go as deep as 100 feet. The wall is reportedly impenetrable, composed of bombproof steel that will be impossible to sever or burn. Though it would not completely destroy the tunneling networks, it is believed that it would stem the majority of smuggling, which has become a key source of revenue for Hamas.

Some analysts see the wall as a response to pressure from the US and Israel, which consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization, to stem smuggling along the border.

The US has in the past threatened to withhold $200 million in military aid to Egypt over concern about arms smuggling in the tunnels, angering Cairo. A compromise was reached in early 2008 under which Congress allocated $23 million of that aid toward stemming smuggling, the US Army Corps of Engineers have been involved in training Egyptian troops on advanced technology that can detect and destroy the tunnels.

Catering to American interests renders Egypt a continued player in peace negotiations and an essential ally in negotiations. Egypt, once the region’s powerbroker, also stands to show its neighbors it will not be subservient to the whims of Hamas, a small militant group and an offshoot of Egypt’s banned political opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.

“It could be a political ploy with the desire of maintaining or reasserting Egypt’s legitimacy in the region at a time when perhaps the Americans are starting to assume that Egypt has a declining role,” says Prof. Iskandar.

Message to Hamas: Consequences for not cooperating

Others see the wall as primarily directed at Hamas after months of Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah have failed to produce a solution.

“It’s quite a drastic measure,” says Nadim Shehadi, associate fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Program at the London-based Chatham House. He sees it as a pessimistic sign that Egypt is giving up on the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks that have failed to produce a deal under Egypt’s mediation efforts.

“It’s an indication that there’s no outlook for a resolution that would allow free passage soon,” says Mr. Shehadi.

But some say it’s not a final move, but rather a political maneuver to strengthen Egypt’s position as a mediator between the estranged Palestinian factions – a maneuver that may prove crucial to restarting negotiations.

“It’s a way ... to send a message to Hamas that they cannot enjoy the same kind of lenient Egyptian policy while at the same time refusing to cooperate with Egypt towards Palestinian reconciliation,” says Gamal Soltan, political analyst at Egypt’s government-funded Al-Ahram Center. “Egypt wants to show Hamas there are consequences for not cooperating.”

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

I puffy heart my Egyptian! Thats all I wanted to say ...

[Niels Bohr 72]

Think that is what should be done to circumvent the Mexicans from building tunnels into the US.

[scandal 951]

It would be interesting to see something like this on the US southern border. However:

the completed wall would be six to seven miles long and plunge 60 feet below the ground, while others said it could go as deep as 100 feet. The wall is reportedly impenetrable, composed of bombproof steel that will be impossible to sever or burn.

The US southern border is much much longer than 6-7 miles, and the terrain would never permit anything of this sort. This is a solution that can work in Gaza but in very few other places.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Goooo Egypt!!!!!!!!!!

[Nagishkaw 510]

But it appears that Egypt is trying to strike a balance between remaining a key ally of the US

Sure. They want those US dollars to keep coming in.

[SMR 368]

It would be interesting to see something like this on the US southern border. However:

the completed wall would be six to seven miles long and plunge 60 feet below the ground, while others said it could go as deep as 100 feet. The wall is reportedly impenetrable, composed of bombproof steel that will be impossible to sever or burn.

The US southern border is much much longer than 6-7 miles, and the terrain would never permit anything of this sort. This is a solution that can work in Gaza but in very few other places.

Well, the Mexicans aren't tunneling in anyway. They walk across.

[mawilson 2,133]

[Peikko 1,575]

Walls are evil.

[scandal 951]

Walls are evil.

Not in Berlin. They're quite retro by the Brandenburg Gate.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Egypt destroys tunnel used for smuggling cars into Gaza

Egyptian security forces on Monday destroyed a tunnel being used to smuggle cars into the Gaza Strip.

Security sources said border patrol officers found the entrance to the tunnel some 300 meters from the Gaza border. The width of the tunnel was about two-and-a-half meters, said the sources.

One the Egyptian side of the border, the smugglers had built a cement ramp over which the towed the cars into the tunnel. According to the sources, this is the second time a car-smuggling tunnel has been found.

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Egypt has begun the construction of a massive iron wall along its border with the Gaza Strip, in a bid to shut down smuggling tunnels into the territory. The wall will be nine to 10 kilometers long, and will go 20 to 30 meters into the ground, Egyptian sources said. It will be impossible to cut or melt.

The new plan is the latest move by Egypt to step up its counter-smuggling efforts. Although some progress had been made, the smuggling market in Gaza still flourishes.

Egyptian forces demolish tunnels or fill them with gas almost every week, often with people still inside them, and Palestinian casualties in the tunnels have been steadily rising.

Recently, Egypt examined several possibilities of blocking the tunnels, and joint American-Egyptian patrols have been seen in Rafah attempting to detect tunnels using underground sensors.

Construction of the wall has already begun. It will be made of enormous slates of steel, reaching deep into the ground. However, it is not expected to stem smuggling completely.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134955.html

[slim 1,533]

So if ACORN really wants to change things, why aren't they raising a stink about Egypt getting $200 Million in military aid compared to their piddly little $53 Million?

[thongd4me 69]

Hmmm...

I wonder if they could build a wall to keep those poor, homeless radicals from

Monaco out of France...

[zqt3344 21]

Start shooting to kill and you would have no more problems with border crossing by illegals. And anyone caught in USA illegally would be put on the chain gang and worked hard with out food and water for many many days and word would get back to old Pepe and friends not to try that illegal border crossing again. They have no fear of USA laws and no respect for the USA at all or they would not do what they do. And it is our law enforcement fault who can blame the bureaucrats in federal government agencies who can blame politicians and president for not funding it and making it a number one priority to shut down illegal immigration. So we salute you Egypt steel wall builders, way to go!

Think that is what should be done to circumvent the Mexicans from building tunnels into the US.

[aishahossam 1]

WELL ALL I GOT TO SAY IS ,,, I LOVE MY EGYPTIAN HUSBAND WALLS ARE STUPID !MOST AMERICANS REALLY ARE A MIX OF OTHER NATIONALITYS THAT JUST CAME OVER TO THE USA ON A BOAT BACK IN THE DAY.AND THE FIRST TRUE AMERICANS THAT WAS HERE WERE THE NATIVE AMERICANS, VIOLENCE SOLVES NOTHING! AND YES THERE IS MANY TUNNELS ON THE BORDERS OF TEXAS AND MEXICO.. I USE TO LIVE IN NEW MEXICO THIS IS HOW I KNOW,AND YES IT DOES ANGER ME THAT THEY HAVE AN EASIER PATH TO GETTING TO USA THAN OUR LOVED ONES, BUT IT ALSO ANGERS ME THAT I CAN PAY 15 DOLLARS FOR A VISA TO SEE MY HUSBAND WITH NO PROBLEMS, WHILE HE HAS TO WAIT FOREVER TO COME TO BE WITH ME,AMERICA IS MOSTLY MADE OF IMMIGRANTS THAT CAME HERE LONG AGO AND SETTLED YET WE ARE SO HARD CORE ON LETTING ANYONE HERE,BUT I LOVE MY COUNTRY AND I RESPECT ALLL PEOPLE AND THIER OPINIONS AND THIER RIGHT TO SPEAK THIER MIND,WE ALL CANT AGREEE BUT WE CAN AT LEAST RESPECT OTHER PEOPLES THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS, HAVE A GOOD DAY AND AGAIN THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION,