The Hidden Tunnels?

Tunnel entrance

There are hundreds of tunnels running under the border between Egypt and Gaza. Much to my surprise, they are right out in the open; not hidden away in secret. There are "tunnel roads" with trucks and carts carrying the latest shipments of merchandise to "market."








Entrance to tunnel







The siege, inflicted upon Gaza by Israel, (with Egypt's cooperation) includes limiting goods allowed into Gaza to an "approved list of 40 items." The list is arbitrary, not based on needs and Gaza has no input in the process. Before the siege 9,000 different items used to cross into Gaza. Think of the number of items in your grocery cart each week. What if you went to the store and found shelves sparsely stocked with a choice of 40 items. Restrictive? How would you manage? Actually the list of 40 items is an improvement; Israel's original list was limited to 9 items!

tunnel with tripod and pulley

The tunnels were born of necessity. They bring canned goods, clothing, toys, even motorcycles! There are now pipes running through some tunnels carrying gas and oil. Prices are inflated on merchandise, unfortunately that's to be expected and to a certain extent, probably necessary. Running a tunnel is risky business!

What about Israel's need to "defend" themselves against the tunnels? Remember, Gaza has no air force. They have no army. Their police force is small. It should be noted that Israel killed over 200 new officers when they bombed the police academy during a graduation ceremony. What about a navy, there must be boats? No navy, in fact the fishermen in Gaza have their boats attacked by Israeli speed boats and gun boats.

We won't get into the fact that Israel is the fourth largest military power in the world and yes, they have weapons of "mass destruction

For 23 days in December 2008 and January 2009, Israel steady and forcefully destroyed Gaza; leaving rubble where houses once stood, masses of crumbled

cement and metal that were industrial sites, farm land ruined, orchards uprooted, municipal buildings destroyed, almost 1,500 people killed and thousands wounded.


New tunnel being built in full view of
Egyptian house, Gaza-Egypt border wall

Israel wasn't waging this battle to wipe out those dangerous "hidden" tunnels. The tunnels undoubtedly bring rockets into Gaza; rockets are a tiny fraction of goods making their way from Egypt to Gaza, via tunnels. Save the 40 items on Israel's approved list, the tunnels supply all Gaza's imported goods. These goods are essential because most of their factories have been destroyed. Yes, some tunnels were hit, the majority were not. They are in plain view! They could have been wiped out! If Israel truly wanted to destroy the tunnels they could do so in a day, maybe two.

The world watched, sitting in their living rooms, as Israel destroyed Gaza, day, after day, after day for 23 days. Horror! Disgust! Disbelief! Anger! Questions! How can Israel say they must defend themselves by destroying tunnels when they proceed to bombard and destroy people, their homes, their communities, their infrastructure? Israel lied about the 23 day days of hell they inflicted on Gaza. It was not a "war against the tunnels." The world heard them, watched them and has begun speaking out. Why has it taken so long? Israel consistently dis-regards international law; indiscriminately murders and incarcerates Palestinians; destroys homes, farms, buildings and infrastructure and enforce cruel, unusual and inhumane practices on Palestinians. How Palestinians maintain their dignity and hope under these conditions is amazing, especially in Gaza. Holding Israel accountable for their illegal actions against Palestinians is long overdue!