Posts Tagged ‘Morsi of Egypt’
Why Egypt floods Gaza tunnels? Morsi wants to cut Palestinian lifeline?
Posted by: adonis49 on: February 17, 2013
Why Egypt floods Gaza tunnels? Morsi wants to cut Palestinian lifeline?
Egyptian and Palestinian officials said that Egypt government forces have flooded smuggling tunnels under the border with the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip in a campaign to shut them down.
The network of tunnels is a vital lifeline for Gaza, bringing in an estimated 30% of all goods that reach the enclave and circumventing a blockade imposed by Israel for more than 7 years.
A tunnel owner, who identified himself only as Ayad, fearing reprisal, said:”Egyptian measures against tunnels have worsened since the election of Mursi. Our Hamas brothers thought he would open up Gaza. I guess they were wrong.”
“Perhaps 150 or 200 tunnels have been shut since the Sinai attack. This is the Mursi era,” he added.
Nidal al-Mughrabi posted on Feb. 13, 2013 on Reuters:
Reuters reporters saw one tunnel being used to bring in cement and gravel suddenly fill with water on Sunday, sending workers rushing for safety.
Locals said two other tunnels were likewise flooded, with Egyptians deliberately pumping in water.
“The Egyptians have opened the water to drown the tunnels,” said Abu Ghassan, who supervises the work of 30 men at one tunnel some 200 meters (yards) from the border fence.
An Egyptian security official in the Sinai told Reuters the campaign started 5 days ago.
“We are using water to close the tunnels by raising water from one of the wells,” he said, declining to be named.
Dozens of tunnels had been destroyed since last August following the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers in a militant attack near the Gaza fence.
Cairo said some of the gunmen had crossed into Egypt via the tunnels – a charge denied by Palestinians – and ordered an immediate crackdown.
The move surprised and angered Gaza’s rulers, the Islamist group Hamas, which had hoped for much better ties with Cairo following the election last year of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist who is ideologically close to Hamas.
A Hamas official confirmed Egypt was again targeting the tunnels. He gave no further details and declined to speculate on the timing of the move, which started while Palestinian faction leaders met in Cairo to try to overcome deep divisions.
CRITICISING CAIRO
Hamas said on Monday the Egyptian-brokered talks, aimed at forging a unity government and healing the schism between politicians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, had gone badly but had not collapsed.
While Gaza’s rulers have been reluctant to criticize Mursi in public, ordinary people in Gaza are slightly more vocal.
The tunnelers fear the water being pumped underground might collapse the passage ways, with possible disastrous consequences.
“Water can cause cracks in the wall and may cause the collapse of the tunnel. It may kill people,” said Ahmed Al-Shaer, a tunnel worker whose cousin died a year ago when a tunnel caved in on him.
Six Palestinians died in January in tunnel implosions, raising the death toll among workers to 233 since 2007, according to Gazan human rights groups, including an estimated 20 who died in various Israeli air attacks on the border lands.
Israel imposed its blockade for what it called security reasons in 2007. The United Nations has appealed for it to be lifted.
At one stage an estimated 2,500-3,000 tunnels snaked their way under the desert fence but the network has shrunk markedly since 2010, when Israel eased some of the limits they imposed on imports into the coastal enclave.
All goods still have to be screened before entering Gaza and Israel says some restrictions must remain on items that could be used to make or to store weapons.
This ensures the tunnels are still active, particularly to bring in building materials. Hamas also prefers using the tunnels to smuggle in fuel, thereby avoiding custom dues that are payable on oil crossing via Israel.
(Additional reporting by Youssry Ahmad in Egypt; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Angus MacSwan)
Note: After the military coup on Morsi in 2013, the new government is resuming the shutting down of the tunnels in more forceful manners. Why? The military government wants to eradicate the salafist “terrorist” elements who are resisting the presence of the army in Sinai Peninsula, and the Palestinian Hamas is blamed for that increase in terrorist attacks in Sinai.
Morsi of Egypt has to deliver on his promise: “If the people gather in Tahrir Square as during the Intifada on Mubarak, I will certainly step down…”
Posted by: adonis49 on: December 7, 2012
Morsi of Egypt has to deliver on his promise: “If the people gather in Tahrir Square as during Mubarak, I will certainly step down…”
The people in Egypt have been setting their tents for 2 weeks now in Tahrir Square, demanding that Morsi steps down. Why Morsi is still hanging on to his seat?
Already there are a dozen killed and over 200 injured, and perpetrated by Morsi’s hooligans of the Moslem Brotherhood movement. Why Morsi refuses to deliver on his promise?
The police forces have arrested 32 of the MB hooligans carrying molotov bottles and sharp weapons on their raids against the demonstrators. What Morsi is waiting for?
And what Morsi of Egypt SUPPORTERS do? They DELIBERATELY FIRE ON JOURNALISTS COVERING CLASHES
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the actions of President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters who deliberately fired on journalists and attacked them as they were covering last night’s clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo.
Al-Hosseiny Abu Deif, an experienced newspaper reporter, was rushed to hospital after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet fired at close range at around 1 a.m. today and is said to be in a critical condition.
A witness told Reporters Without Borders that Morsi supporters deliberately targeted Deif, who works for the newspaper Al-Fagr.
Five minutes before Abu Deif was shot from a distance of just two metres, he showed colleagues photos of the president’s supporters with sophisticated weapons.
Abu Deif camera was stolen after he was shot, as colleagues went to his aid.
“Witnesses say the president’s supporters deliberately targeted and attacked journalists. We call on President Morsi to order an investigation into the circumstances of these attacks and to punish those responsible. As president, he must ensure the safety of all of his fellow citizens, including journalists.
“We also call on the president to rescind the 22 November decree granting himself extraordinary powers, and not hold a referendum on the draft constitution in its current form.
The Constituent Commission must amend the draft in order to provide more protection for freedom of expression and information.”
Other journalists were injured during the night as they covered the clashes.They included :
Mohamed Azouz of the government newspaper Al-Gomhuria,
Osama Al-Shazly of the daily Al-Badil,
Islam Abdel Tawab of Al-Alam Al-Yawm,
Sahar Talaat, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale’s Spanish service and
Ahmed Khair Eldeen, a ON-TV journalist.
Two journalists with Turkey’s TRT television, reporter Mehmet Akif Ersoy and cameraman Adil Ahmet, were attacked earlier yesterday in Tahrir Square and their equipment was damaged.
Read the letter about the Egyptian constitution that was sent to President Morsi yesterday.
The people in Egypt have declared with no uncertain terms: “This MB Constitution will not pass…”. Why Morsi insist on a this charade of a referendum on this Constitution that was cooked within one night and one day without the participation of the other political parties?
Morsi should remember that Egypt had a secular constitution and secular civil laws a century ago. Why Morsi feel so strongly about reverting Egypt to the medieval age?
Adonis Diaries 