Archive: gaza / Reading Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Posts Tagged ‘gaza’

Why Egypt is building a steel underground wall

December 16th, 2009 • News
Tags: egypt, gaza, wall

Heavy machinery operates on the Egyptian side of the border between the southern Gaza Strip, right, and Egypt, left, as seen from Rafah.

by Sarah A. Topol – csmonitor.com

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 cooperatingOthers 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.”

Egypt starts building steel wall on Gaza Strip border

December 10th, 2009 • News
Tags: bbc, egypt, gaza, tunnel, wall

Egypt has begun constructing a huge metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip as it attempts to cut smuggling tunnels, the BBC has learned.

When it is finished the wall will be 10-11km (6-7 miles) long and will extend 18 metres below the surface.

The Egyptians are being helped by American army engineers, who the BBC understands have designed the wall.

The plan has been shrouded in secrecy, with no comment or confirmation from the Egyptian government.

The wall will take 18 months to complete.

For weeks local farmers have noticed more activity at the border where trees were being cut down, but very few of them were aware that a barrier was being built.

Gaza Freedom March

December 8th, 2009 • Action, Events
Tags: codepink, gaza, march

Gaza Freedom March

CODEPINK and other groups are organising a march on December 31 to the Gaza border:

On December 31 the coalition is mobilizing an international contingent of over 1,000 people from over 40 countries for a nonviolent march alongside Palestinians in Gaza to end the illegal blockade and mark the fact that is has been one year since the Israeli attack.

Get more info at gazafreedommarch.org

Vigil Outside the Israeli Embassy

December 7th, 2009 • Action
Tags: anniversary, gaza, israel embassy, london, protest

One year since the Beginning of the Attacks on Gaza – “Remember Gaza: end the siege”

One year on… Join the vigil outside the Israeli Embassy

Coinciding with the first anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, PSC and other groups have called for a protest at the Israeli Embassy in London.

3pm – Sunday 27 December 2009
High Street Kensington, W8, London
(High St Kensington Underground)

Called by: PSC, BMI, CND and STW – Supported by: Amos Trust, Communication Workers Union, Fire Brigades Union, Friends of Al Aqsa, Friends of Lebanon, Greater London UNISON, The Green Party, ICAHD UK, Jewish Socialists’ Group, Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, Palestinian Return Centre, The Peace Cycle, Public and Commercial Services Union, Thompsons Solicitors.

Viva Palestina Convoy in the News

November 30th, 2009 • Comments Off Action, Events, News
Tags: convoy, gaza, tony, viva palestina

Local Newspaper Article

Tony from Reading PSC will be part of the 3rd Viva Palestina Convoy setting off from London on Sunday December 6th expecting to arrive in Gaza on Sunday December 27th – one year after Operation Cast Lead began.

We’ll be tracking the Convoy’s progress along the route here…

Petition in Support of Deported Gaza Student

November 12th, 2009 • Action
Tags: bethlehem university, deported, gaza, number 10, petition

UPDATE: Gaza student to hold graduation party at church because of siege

Berlanty Azzam

Please encourage as many people as possible to sign the petition on behalf of Berlanty Azzam, deported from Bethlehem University to Gaza, weeks before her final exams, as requested by David Toorawa:

Please sign the petition to the Prime Minister, as requested by Brother Jack Curran at Bethlehem University.

Dear David

THANKS again for your support — the next court hearing date is
Thursday, 12 Nov and I plan to be there in Jerusalem at the hearing

in the meantime, for UK Residents, there is a petition to Number 10 to
gain support for Berlanty has been approved!!! Please sign it – and
pass it on to as many people as you can. Click this link to access it:

petitions.number10.gov.uk/berlantyazzam

There needs to be 500 signatures and so far we are up to 177

Brother jack

Brother Jack Curran, FSC, PhD
Vice President for Development
Bethlehem University in the Holy Land
Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine
www.bethlehem.edu