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Hamas orders tunnels shut
Jerusalem Post ^ | 04/14/2010 13:15 | YAAKOV KATZ

Posted on 04/14/2010 12:07:02 PM PDT by ddk632

Hamas orders tunnels shut

Reason for move unclear; group warns of punishment if order defied.

Gaza's Hamas rulers have ordered residents to shut smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt indefinitely,
...

"This is the first time this has happened," said Jasser Younes, a 25-year-old tunnel worker who helps smuggle cement into Gaza. Two other tunnel operators said Hamas security forces warned people they would be punished if they defied the order. They declined to be identified for fear of punishment.
...

The closure of the tunnels was viewed in Israel as connected to the reports a day earlier of a possible kidnapping of an Israeli citizen in the Sinai Peninsula and by a Palestinian terror organization.

...
Rafah officials say that Egypt has stepped up a crackdown on smuggling ... is also building an underground steel wall to block the tunnels.

...

(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: hamas; israel; middleeast; smugglingtunnels
Interesting read, even though it's an AP article, but this has not ever happened before. Let the speculation begin on what this might be preceding or because of;

I for one am happy to learn that Egypt is doing something about the tunnels, namely building a steel wall which hopefully will be relatively impenetrable.

What are your FRopinions on the matter? Is Hamas afraid to bear the certain retaliation if they were to be linked with the kidnapping terror cell?

Or perhaps they have amassed enough weapons that they don't need to smuggle any more?

Either way I view this as good news, for the time being.

P.S. Forgive me if anything is odd about this post - this is my first thread post on FR, so I apologize in advance for any etiquette I've failed to follow, or if the AP excerpt is too long.
1 posted on 04/14/2010 12:07:03 PM PDT by ddk632
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To: ddk632

Wasn’t there some warning yesterday from Israel to their citizens to vacate the Sinai?


2 posted on 04/14/2010 12:09:17 PM PDT by dawn53
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To: ddk632

Let me be the first to say “Welcome aboard”..
As for the etiquette part.. you may address me as
“Your Majesty, Robe “ (8^)


3 posted on 04/14/2010 12:11:31 PM PDT by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: ddk632
Is Hamas afraid to bear the certain retaliation if they were to be linked with the kidnapping terror cell?

Was that a joke?

They are probably just consolidating. If there are too many tunnels for Hamas to control then they won't get to collect their squeeze.

4 posted on 04/14/2010 12:12:07 PM PDT by SeeSharp
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To: ddk632

IN a business sense, the Egyptian underground steel wall is a actual physical barrier to entry into the smuggling market, meaning only Hamas and Gaza oligarchy approved tunneling operations will be able to continue operations, creating a near monopoly on black market goods, greatly enriching the Hamas leadership and further increasing the misery of the Gaza residents.


5 posted on 04/14/2010 12:14:09 PM PDT by JerseyHighlander
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To: ddk632

I think Israel let the powers that be know that the tunnels were going to be a target for destruction ASAP unless something was done about them.

It’s just a guess.


6 posted on 04/14/2010 12:14:23 PM PDT by Canedawg (I'm not digging this tyranny thing.)
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To: ddk632
Hamas is trying to distance and disavow involvement in whatever is planned to go down.

Rumors of an attempted abduction of an Israeli citizen by Arab terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula were proven false late Tuesday night, but Israeli citizens are continuing to be told to stay out of the Sinai Peninsula due to a “serious and immediate” terror alert. Citing concrete information that a terror cell was on the way to carry out an attack, Israeli government officials issued an urgent warning to the public Tuesday through all media outlets, telling citizens to contact family members traveling in Egypt.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137000

7 posted on 04/14/2010 12:15:10 PM PDT by Sax
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To: JerseyHighlander
So, if you're underground, you have all the unobserved time in the world to torch through a steel wall - unless they have some sensors (seismic, electrical, etc.) attached.

And yes, these tunnels can't exist, to the scale that they do today at least, if Egypt really didn't want them.

8 posted on 04/14/2010 12:19:19 PM PDT by Sax
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: JerseyHighlander; SeeSharp

Without knowing details, my first reaction was also that someone feels they aren’t getting their share of the rake.


10 posted on 04/14/2010 12:43:16 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: SeeSharp
Was that a joke?

They are probably just consolidating. If there are too many tunnels for Hamas to control then they won't get to collect their squeeze.

Not a joke at all,

Remember what happened with the Lebanon 2006 war under Olmert's watch - it was fueled by kidnappings of Israeli soldiers.

However I was not thinking in the business sense, in light of which your suggestion makes very good sense.
11 posted on 04/14/2010 1:39:06 PM PDT by ddk632 (Four by Four Animal Style Protein Style)
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To: Canedawg
I think Israel let the powers that be know that the tunnels were going to be a target for destruction ASAP unless something was done about them.

Good point. I remeber in the 2008/2009 Gaza war, Israel was constantly taking out the tunnels but they would just pop up again in due time; it seemed like a futile exercise.

I don't believe they are going to halt tunnel smuggling operations, but economic control, as suggested by several other posters, might be what they are after.
12 posted on 04/14/2010 1:39:06 PM PDT by ddk632 (Four by Four Animal Style Protein Style)
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To: F15Eagle
F15Eagle wrote:

They must have all the weapons they need - at the moment.

Or have some other resupply route. Hamas will always be Hamas.

Committed to the destruction of Israel and the Jew. Typical islamokazi doctrine at their core.


Agreed,

It would be foolish to consider any decisions made or actions taken by Hamas to be benevolent towards Israel.
13 posted on 04/14/2010 1:39:06 PM PDT by ddk632 (Four by Four Animal Style Protein Style)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...

Islamic Jihad just accused Hamas of having made a secret treaty with Israel. The real reason for this latest move? It’s impossible to blame Israel for holding Gaza prisoner if supplies can get in. Plus, Hamas wasn’t getting its cut of the proceeds. ;’) Thanks ddk632.


14 posted on 04/14/2010 6:56:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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