Today's Washington Examiner posted an article about a clash Wednesday between Egyptian troops and Hamas supporters along the Gaza border. One Egyptian soldier was shot and more than a dozen Gazans wounded.
The article reports:
"Accompanied by a barrage of rocks, the shooting underlined the mounting tensions over Egypt's construction of an underground steel wall that could seal Gaza's southern border, block hundreds of smuggling tunnels and deprive Gaza's Hamas rulers of their only lifeline.
"Hamas is trying to rally Arab and Muslim public opinion against the barrier it has dubbed the "death wall." Hamas-allied Muslim clerics have denounced the wall as "haram," or forbidden by Islam, and protesters picketed Egyptian embassies in Lebanon and Jordan this week."
We sometimes forget that terrorism is a problem for some Arab nations as well as a worldwide problem. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. As part of that treaty, the Sinai was returned to Egypt. A little more than a year after signing that treaty, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat was assassinated by the Muslin Brotherhood, a group of Islamist radicals that we still have to contend with today.
The tunnels at the Egyptian border with Gaza have been used to smuggle weapons into Gaza, but also to smuggle items that lessen the impact of a blockade which is intended to stem to flow of weapons and military items. It is not only logical that Egypt would want to stop the smuggling, it is in their best national interest to do so.
The thing to remember in dealing with any news from the Middle East is the propaganda factor. When some cars of a caravan bringing supplies into Gaza were turned back recently, Egypt was immediately accused of preventing medicine from being brought to the people of Gaza. Since only 45 vehicles of 200 vehicles were denied entry, I doubt medicine was the issue.
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