Gaza Tunnel Smugglers Grow Under Hamas

Palestinian tunnel diggers, wearing masks to conceal their identities, use a pulley to remove sand from a smuggling tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, in this photo taken late Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007. In underground darkness with stifling heat and limited air supply, Gazans are finding an antidote to their growing isolation: digging tunnels under their border with Egypt to smuggle everything from weapons to cigarettes to people. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

14 August 2007

Slideshow

By KEVIN FRAYER

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -Gazans are finding an antidote to their growing isolation: digging tunnels under their border with Egypt to smuggle everything from weapons to cigarettes to people.

A group of smugglers recently gave an Associated Press photographer rare permission to accompany them as they dug one tunnel. In underground darkness with stifling heat and limited air supply, the diggers painstakingly removed sand and rubble as they crawled through cramped spaces carrying portable lamps and homemade tools.

The southern Gaza town of Rafah has long been a key conduit for underground weapons-smuggling — mostly controlled by a handful of local clans. With Israel imposing a strict closure of Gaza's borders in the wake of Hamas militants' violent seizure of the coastal territory in June, more and more smugglers are taking a piece of the action.

The stakes are higher than ever. Smugglers find themselves pursued by Israel, which fears militants' growing arsenal; by Egypt, which is under growing pressure to crack down on tunnel diggers; and by Hamas, which does not oppose tunnels but wants to control them.

The diggers, who refused to give their names and wore masks to shield their identities, said today's tunnels must be deeper and longer than ever before to avoid detection. The tunnels often take weeks or months to dig, and the tunnelers sleep where they work to avoid getting caught.

Tunnelers smuggle machine guns, rifles, ammunition, explosive devices, grenade launchers and other munitions. Cigarettes, drugs, gold, automobile parts and people also move through the shafts.

The AP was not allowed to see what goods were moving through the tunnel.

Some are only wide enough to carry in contraband no larger than a rifle, pulled through with a rope. Others, such as the one seen by AP, are big enough for a person. Still, once inside there's not enough room to turn around, so every 100 yards or so, a wider space is bored to enable a change of direction.

Israel estimates there are dozens of tunnels. They range in length from 100 yards to a half-mile. They begin and end in unlikely places: under the floor tiles of kitchens, inside bedroom closets or animal pens, in the nooks of abandoned buildings. People who allow their dwellings to be used for tunnels are paid.

Runners said it is now most profitable to smuggle in goods such as cigarettes rather than weapons because Hamas has prohibited ordinary citizens and rival militants from carrying arms.

"After they (Hamas) took over and started controlling who can have weapons, nobody wants them any more. So why should we bring them in?" said one smuggler.

Other tunnels, however, are squarely in Hamas' hands — and Israeli officials say arms smuggling by the militant group is going strong.

Smuggling has a long history in the area. Egypt once used a camel corps to intercept aboveground Bedouin caravans, but for years now has relied on vehicle patrols. During Israel's withdrawal from Sinai, smugglers buried Mercedes and other vehicles in the desert sand so they could retrieve and sell them after Israel withdrew from the territory, without having to pay Egyptian taxes.

Gaza's tunnels are a major frustration for Israel, which has carried out dozens of raids to destroy them, often killing both militants and civilians.

"The Hamas terror organization continues to busy itself with the smuggling of huge quantities of weapons for use against Israel. These tunnels continue to be the main source of the weapons supplies to Palestinian terrorists," said Israeli government spokesman David Baker.

Tunnelers said Hamas has been trying to take over existing tunnels for its own smuggling — showing little tolerance for freelance runners.

In an interview, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied the existence of tunnels in Gaza.

"Israel is claiming there are tunnels just to spoil the relationship between us and our brothers in Egypt," he said.

Smuggling a person through a tunnel can cost up to $10,000, depending on their importance or whether they are wanted by Israel, the smugglers said.

Runners say the process of bringing a person from Egypt involves intricate planning and coordination with the other side.

"He's handed to someone there. He stays over at that person's place, and then we bring him in at night at an agreed time," said a smuggler.

Depending on the length, width and sophistication of any given tunnel, they can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $200,000 to build. That cost is the biggest incentive for smugglers to move as much contraband as possible. Profits, too, can be high, with more than a few Gaza millionaires created by smuggling.

One tunneler said the shaft he was digging would take four months to complete and that he expected to earn $12,000 for his efforts — a fortune in impoverished Gaza.