Gazans Digging To Survive
A stated aim of Israel's military strikes in Gaza was to destroy underground tunnels between Egypt and Gaza because they're used by Hamas to smuggle in weapons.
But Gazans argue that there are two kinds of tunnels running from Gaza to Egypt: militant and civilian. Hamas-controlled tunnels are "supposedly steel-ribbed and large enough for a car to pass through," according to Time. And unlike civilians, who dig in plain sight of the Egyptian border security and Israeli surveillance aircraft, Hamas members are more secretive and obscure about the location of their tunnels.
Gaza's civilians claim their tunnels are necessary. Israel essentially sealed Gaza's borders to everything but humanitarian aid after Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, making the tunnels the only means for transporting everything from medicine, cement, chocolate bars, and even lion cubs for the zoo, according to Time.
"It's a lie to say that we use these tunnels to only bring in weapons. We're bringing in the ordinary stuff that keeps Gaza alive. If the Israelis opened the border crossings, we wouldn't have to be doing this," a Gazan resident tells Time.
According to the New York Times, the tunnels are also a primary source of income for some 25,000 young men. Tunnel diggers can earn $100 for every meter they dig — making the tunnels one of the biggest sources of employment in the territory. And they were back to digging as soon as the truce was signed.
"If Israel keeps the borders sealed off, we'll keep digging and only Allah can stop us. Let the Israelis drop their bombs. Without the tunnels we can't survive anyway," says Aymad, a tunnel digger. "And if a bomb catches me underground, well, they won't have to dig my grave."
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Gazans digging to survive
It would make sense for Israel to open the borders to Gaza so they wouldn't have to use tunnels for transporting goods. It also seems that if civilians are allowed access to and from the city, it would be easier for the Israeli Defense Forces to track shipments of weapons and such. However, the tunnels are a huge source of income for Gazans. If the Israeli army and Gazan citizens could come together and put into place an agreement about the tunnels, maybe Israel could open its borders which could then provide more job opportunities.
Gaza's Tunnels A Sad Reality
It's interesting that the Gazans admit that they smuggle weapons through the same tunnels through which they try to engage in commerce. It probably shouldn't be surprising when they make schools, mosques, and hospitals depositories for weapons as well. Creating a clear distinction between civilian and military use allows governments to attack high priority military targets without demolishing infrastructure. Sadly that's a reality of the mindset carryover of terrorist organizations like Hamas. While it's deeply saddening that it impacts the population of Gaza, it was justified that their tunnels were closed. Who voted for these killers to rule the Palestinians and for creating a climate where innocents are shields? Completely heartbreaking.
Israeli Hipocrisy
Israel conducted elections in Gaza since it withdrew its military presence in 2005 and Hamas was democratically elected by the people of Gaza. Why can't Israel respect the choice of the Palestinians and deal with Hamas like governments deal with each other? Now that the Palestinians have elected Hamas, is this Israel's way of punishing the Palestinians? Crawling through the Tunnels and getting choclate bars, is this a way to live?This is clearly an example of Israeli Hipocrisy. On the one hand they want to show the world that they are just, by holding elections in Gaza and on the other hand, they make Gazans crawl through tunnels to Egypt for their survival. There are 1.5 million Gazans and there has been a Humanitarians Crisis going on in the region for more than 3 years. If the international community can give Gaza, half the attention it gives Darfur, Gazans will definately be better off.
Gaza vs Darfur among other thoughts
The previous poster lamented the publicity afforded Darfur in comparison to Gaza. It appears that the facts show the reverse. Not only are the events in the Middle East more of a concern to the International community, the events in Darfur barely makes the major news on a weekly basis.
Additionally, the movers and shakers of the International community, mostly comprised of western civilization countries, find the Gazan leadership responsible for much of the suffering endured by those innocent Arabs living in the area.
Whereas the Darfurians have little or no ability to change conditions, Hamas has a great deal of authority to set conditions that will end a majority of the inconvenience suffered by the Gazans today.
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