An Economic Solution for Gaza, Swiss Cheese and Bunker Busters…….....
“Shots had been fired from the Palestinian side of the border at equipment in the area since Thursday, the source said. No injuries were reported. Egyptian authorities suspect those shooting were smugglers afraid that the work will damage tunnels used to take goods into Gaza clandestinely, the source added. Despite Israeli aerial bombardment, the tunnels have remained open. Palestinian sources say the flourishing business works with the paid collusion of Egyptian border guards. The tunnels have been used to smuggle weapons as well as basic goods. Israel withdrew from the Strip in 2005 and its border with the coastal enclave is tightly controlled by the military. Egypt controls the southern border of the strip in a security arrangement with Israel……....”
It doesn’t look like Egypt has real control on much of the border. If the Egyptian security services control anything efficiently it is the Egyptian street. They can keep their own people at bay, so far. They may also be able to sniff out where some of the remnants of Egypt's one-vibrant swine community are being hidden by the Copts. But they cannot control the border.
The border area probably looks like Swiss cheese under the ground. Maybe they, someone, will end up using those huge bunker-busters, the ones they have been saving for Iranian sites. But that would be like throwing a hand grenade to kill an ant.
Of course, speaking as an economist, the best way to close the tunnels is to put the smugglers out of business. The best way to put the smugglers out of business is to allow the goods destined for Gaza flow to freely. The best way to do the latter is to lift the blockade on Gaza. That is the kind of advice George W Bush and Barack Obama, both professed believers in globalization, should have given the Egyptians. But of course they didn't and won’t.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
mhg
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