The Hamas government said Sunday it was “surprised” to hear that Egypt is planning to create a buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip.
Ehab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that there should be no buffer zones “between brothers and friendly countries.”
Ghissin expressed hope that the Egyptian move would not “solidify the blockade” and increase the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip.
He called for establishing a free trade area instead of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Egyptian newspapers quoted Palestinian sources as saying that 90% of the smuggling tunnels along the border with the Gaza Strip have stopped functioning as a result of Egypt’s security measures.
The sources said that the Egyptian army was waging an “unprecedented” campaign to destroy houses and tunnels.
According to the sources, the planned buffer zone would be between 25-500 meters wide and 10 kilometers long.
Meanwhile, dozens of Egyptian families demonstrated on the Egyptian side of the border in protest against the demolition of their homes by the army.
The protesters said that the Egyptian army has notified many families living close to the border with the Gaza Strip that of its intention to demolish their homes is part of its effort to create a buffer zone in the area.
The families said that the Egyptian army destroyed in the past few days several houses without allowing them time to remove their furniture and personal belongings.
The Egyptian authorities have also banned Palestinian fishermen from entering Egypt’s territorial waters near Rafah.
Last weekend, Egyptian naval troops opened fire at a fishermen’s boat near the Egyptian town of Rafah, injuring six people. The Hamas government has demanded clarifications from the Egyptians over the incident.
Egypt’s military has bulldozed 13 homes along the Gaza Strip border and caved in tunnels beneath them as a prelude to the possible creation of a buffer zone to reduce weapon smuggling and illegal militant crossings, angering residents who said they were evicted with no compensation, security officials and residents said Sunday.
The military envisions creating a building-free zone with no trees 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide and 10 kilometers (6 miles) long starting at the Rafah border crossing and ending at the Mediterranean Sea, Northern Sinai government officials said. The homes were knocked down over the last 10 days as a test of the buffer zone idea in an area called el-Sarsoriya, a few kilometers (miles) from the Rafah crossing, while explosives were used to collapse the tunnels. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The move comes as Egypt’s interim government and military attempt to assert more stringent state control over the largely lawless northern Sinai Peninsula, where Islamic militants have turned large areas into strongholds from which they have waged repeated attacks on security forces, Christians and tribal leaders — compounding the country’s security woes following the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July. Homes and trees along the Gaza border have been used as cover for militants to fire at border guards.
Ehab Ghussein, a spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, said he feared the creation of a buffer zone would be a step toward imposing “a new blockade on Gaza and increase the suffering of its people.”
“Buffer zones are not needed between neighboring countries that have historical and social relations,” Ghussein said, calling instead for the establishment of a free trade zone at the Egypt-Gaza border.
ABC NEWS
The Egyptian military has closed much of the once-bustling tunnel system, but some remain along the 15-kilometer (9-mile) stretch of border. Residents angered by the past days’ bulldozing staged a sit-in protest in Rafah Sunday.
One tribal leader claimed that many more homes were demolished and that the bulldozers showed up without notice, giving people little time to leave with their belongings. And the government has offered no compensation, he added, to residents who lost their homes. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from authorities.
Samir Faris, who lives in Rafah, said many more people fear losing their homes if the buffer zone is expanded beyond the small area leveled so far. Most homes along the border are two to three stories high and house more than one family, he said.
“Officers come to houses, tell people they must leave now because they want to expand borders,” he said. “We have no objections, but first give us a clear plan.”
At the sit-in, residents decided to propose a committee to authorities made up of the military, local officials and tribal leaders who could negotiate over the relocation of people living in houses proposed for demolition. Residents themselves are divided about moving. Some insist they want to stay while others would agree to leave with compensation because they agree with the military that the tunnels are a threat to Egypt’s national security.
The tunnels have been used for years to transport goods and people including weapons and militants back and forth between Sinai and Gaza.
Al-Sis must know something that Hamas doesn’t!!!!
Will this be used by the “friends of Israel” to demonize Israel?
The way of the world!
Der iolem iz a goilem.
Egypt is building a separation wall between itself and Gaza.
Arabs treat fellow Arabs like dirt – and there will be NO international outcry about Egypt’s decision. When the Jews are not in the picture – no one cares.
The way of the world!
Egypt is building a separation wall between itself and Gaza.
They treat their Arab brethen like something one scrapes off from one’s shoes but unlike with Israel – there will be NO international outcry about it.
No one cares what Arabs do to Arabs. The way of the world!