For years, Israel refused to allow the free passage of heavy construction materials into Gaza, on the basis that they were “dual-use”; ie you can build a hotel or you can build a missile silo - or a defensive position - or a 1,700 metre tunnel under the border with Israel that can be filled with explosives or used to kidnap an Israeli soldier. But who on earth would ever want to do that when there are damaged refugees’ houses to repair, roads to improve, drains to be dug or sparkling new shopping malls to be built?
Well, actually Hamas would want to do that, and someone and his friends just spent a year with a hammer drill 60 feet underground digging a concrete-lined tunnel straight into Israel’s sovereign territory in the Western Negev. What they didn’t know, of course, was that their progress was being followed by the Israel Defence Force (IDF), who uncovered the Israel end just over a week ago, swept it thoroughly for any nasty surprises and then proudly showed their find to reporters two days ago (Sunday 13th October)!
Should we be shocked? Should we be surprised? Not really. Tunnels have been a stock-in-trade for Hamas for a long time and provided a lucrative line in taxes before Egypt closed most of the economic ones decisively a few weeks ago. Not that the Western media took much notice of the anguished cries from Gazans deprived of their fresh fruit, new cars and Iranian rockets.
So why would 500 tons of concrete, used to line a rather smart terrorist tunnel, start a war? Well, for a start, Hamas promised not to do any such naughty thing with construction materials under the 2012 peace agreement brokered by Egypt’s then-President Morsi. But hey, who needs to take any notice of a peace agreement with Israel?
As of right now, Hamas finds itself in a bad place - kind of up the end of a smuggling tunnel with no way out! From utter delight at the “democratic” installation of a friendly Muslim Brotherhood president in Egypt, coupled with good relations and loads-a-dosh from their pals in Qatar and maybe again Iran, Hamas now has no friends in Egypt and no money coming in from either smuggling tunnels or erstwhile friends elsewhere in the Middle East.
The Egyptian military, struggling to clear the Sinai of a rampant terrorist infestation and knowing full well that a lot of the “cockroaches” were coming out of Gaza, promptly closed the only crossing into Egypt and found a way of destroying most of the black economy smuggling tunnels that helped to feed Hamas’ coffers.
Even worse, the oppressed population of Gaza is becoming increasingly fed up with an Islamic government that has done precious little for its people in six years of “rule by balaclava and AK47”. Adding insult to injury, most of the street lamp-posts in the enclave have been fired into Israel as rockets and are now decorating the backyard of Sderot Police Station.
What does any oppressive regime do when backed into a corner? They point over there and say, “it’s all Israel’s fault”. At times like that, a war comes in very handy to divert people’s attention from lynching their leaders and how better to start one with Israel than by either blowing up or kidnapping a few soldiers? This is most certainly what the 1.7 km tunnel would have been used for and the consequences would also most certainly have been a firm retaliation by Israel. But the death of a few (or a few dozen) hapless Gazan civilians would only add to the gain from the tunnel’s use and give Hamas a much needed breathing space from domestic problems.
Increasingly, Hamas is revealing itself as a brutal, self-serving and heartless regime; showing no regard at all for the well-being or safety of their own people and concerned only to find new ways of keeping the “resistance” going against Israel. Unfortunately, this is becoming increasingly difficult from behind a strong wire fence with one-time friends deserting them right, left and centre (Turkey’s Recip Erdogan recently cancelled a planned visit to Gaza).
The writing is on the (tunnel) wall for Hamas, and their fall would not come a moment too soon for the thousands of innocent Gazans living in poverty under their heel. They should use concrete for what it was intended for!
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