Deteriorating Security in Sinai Destroys Trade, Livelihoods
The worsening security conditions in the Sinai and crackdowns on either side of the Egypt-Gaza border have made life worse on both sides.
RAFAH, Sinai — Every few days, an armored vehicle rolls past the entrance to Abou Yasser’s clothing shop in this city that straddles the border between Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the police and military unaware of how he really makes a living.
For the past three years, Abou Yasser has moved diapers and milk through an underground tunnel into Gaza. Recently, however, his smuggling business has been hurt by Egyptian military efforts to restore security in the peninsula and quell terrorist threats — affecting business for Sinai smugglers while Gaza residents face greater shortages of food and supplies.
“Before the operation, my tunnel was open all the time. Now it is only open two days a week,” said Abou Yasser, whose tunnel operates only on weekends, when he says security in the area is scarce.
Sinai residents were offered few economic opportunities under now-deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and many in the northern part of the peninsula turned to illegal arms trade or smuggling goods. Roughly 1,200 tunnels link Sinai to Gaza, although only several hundred are currently working, locals say.
