"Homeless" Arabs In Rafiach Were Paid $1,000 A Month
16:21 Oct 14, '03 / 18 Tishrei 5764
IDF forces, including tanks and helicopters, are once again operating in Rafiach, searching for arms-smuggling tunnels. The first phase of the operation, in which three tunnels were found and destroyed, lasted from early Friday morning until Saturday night. The second phase began late last night; no deadline has been set for its termination. Intermittent exchanges of fire are being registered.
The offensive involves the army's demolition of many buildings and homes in the area, which serve as the end-points and openings for the tunnels. Approximately ten tunnels, 12-14 meters deep, are still in active use for the smuggling of arms and weapons from Egypt to PA-controlled Gaza.
The offensive has drawn much criticism from extreme left-wing elements such as Gush Shalom and Meretz MK Zahava Gal'on for the "thousands of Arabs" it has made homeless. However, Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman and HaTzofeh's Danny Shalom report that the entire affair is in fact very lucrative for the Arabs living in the area. Each family whose home serves as an end-point for a tunnel receives $1,000 a month, and homes that are destroyed are rebuilt elsewhere by the Palestinian Authority, with generous compensation thrown in for good measure.
The smuggling operation is essentially a family enterprise, report Huberman and Shalom, with several large Gaza families "owning" a piece of the action. They pay families that agree to have a tunnel running from their homes $1,000 each month, and they then sell the weapons that are thus smuggled to the Palestinian Authority. If a tunnel-camouflaging home is destroyed by the IDF, the PA pays generous compensation to the family - and even builds the family a new home in the Tel Sultan neighborhood. Some residents have therefore begun spreading rumors of tunnels in their homes, designed for Israeli ears, so that they can "start all over" with a destroyed home, PA reparations, and a new modern house.
Huberman and Shalom, quoting Israeli military sources, report that Iranian elements are actively involved in the arms-smuggling from Egypt. So far in 2003, large quantities of many different types of weapons have been smuggled into Gaza via the tunnels, including dozens of RPG launchers, hundreds of kilograms of explosive material, hundreds of rifles, tens of thousands of bullets, and thousands of magazines. Of late, attempts are being made to smuggle in anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well.
Some of the tunnels have been found to be as deep as 30 meters underground, in order to evade some of Israel's counter-measures. They are used not only to smuggle arms and weapons, but also precious metals, electric appliances, car parts, and even terrorists. The IDF has uncovered and destroyed 36 tunnels so far in 2003. |
