TV Report on Gaza Tunnels: Israel's Easing of the Blockade Has Led to Slump in Tunnel Trade

Following are excerpts from a report on the Gaza tunnels, which aired on Press TV Iran on October 8, 2010:

Reporter: Israel began allowing consumer goods into Gaza after its May [2010] attack on a Turkish aid ship, but it still blocks all exports from the territory, imposes a complete naval blockade, and severely restricts the movement of people. The ease on the siege led to a slump in the volume of goods entering Gaza through tunnels, but now they serve as a conduit to export goods to Egypt. Items such as scrap metal, fruits, and vegetables are now on a reverse trip to Egypt through the same tunnels which were used to bring basic humanitarian needs into the territory.

Tunnel worker: Because of the decreasing demand for Egyptian goods, many tunnel owners have struck deals with Egyptian traders to export some goods from Gaza via the same tunnels. The tunnel business is in decline, and many tunnels have closed down.

Reporter: With recycling infrastructure in Gaza largely limited to the production of cinder blocks out of cement aggregates, iron, and scrap metal, collected from the rubble of the last Israeli war on Gaza and continued airstrikes, heading through the tunnels to Egypt for processing, the scrap is sold to Egyptian merchants in exchange for iron bars or other construction materials. According to the United Nations, the 22-day Israeli war left more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, and 200 schools damaged or destroyed.

Gazan trader: Egyptian goods, mainly food, brought from the tunnels from the Egyptian side, are on the shelves. Since the easing of the siege, people buy goods imported via border crossings. We cannot find buyers for Egyptian goods.

Reporter: Traders say that the tunnel trade has become less lucrative, compared to its height between 2007 and 2009, when Israel’s siege on the Strip was very tight. Salaries for workers have gone down – from 100 dollars a day, in some cases, to an average of 25 dollars a day. Estimates say that the number of operating tunnels has decreased by 70%, with Egyptian officials saying that almost 600 tunnels out of 2,000 have been shut down since the start of the year.

Gazans say that unless they are able to export their goods and produce, and import raw material for industrial units, any hope of long-term improvement in the overall situation in the Strip is not realistic.

Yousuf Al-Hilu, Press TV, Gaza.