Gaza tunnelers turn former lifeline into export channel
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RAFAH—The workers herd cows through the dusty tunnels beneath the Gaza border, but this time they are leading them out of the isolated Palestinian enclave and into Egypt.
The lifting of restrictions in recent months has seen consumer goods pour into the Hamas-run territory through Israeli crossings, transforming the tunnels that once served as a lifeline for Gaza into its sole export channel.
The tunnels are still used for smuggling in construction materials that Israel only allows to enter via authorized crossings for projects carried out under international supervision.
But the canvas sacks full of food, beauty products and second-hand clothes that used to be dragged through hundreds of tunnels beneath the border now flow the other way in a lucrative trade conducted by an entrepreneurial few.
“We reversed our trade since the easing of the Israeli blockade and now we export,” said a tunnel operator who goes by Abu Jamil..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101020com3.html
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