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Camp David Agreement tied Egypt

BERITA MINGGU:10 Jan 2010

Egypt's Gaza wall months from completion - Israel

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An underground wall that Egypt is building along its border with the Gaza Strip will significantly stem Palestinian arms smuggling when is completed, an Israeli military officer said on Wednesday.

It may be months before it is finished, however, the officer said.

Cairo has played down the scope of the dig on the 14-km (8-mile)-long frontier but Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers condemn it as a "wall of death" that could seal an Israeli-led blockade by smothering smuggler tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.

"The wall definitely has the potential to make things difficult, though it (smuggling) won't stop hermetically," an Israeli military officer briefed on Gaza intelligence said.

"There has certainly been an effect already. It's driving Hamas crazy."

Israel has long lobbied Egypt to tackle the cross-border smuggling, which supplies Palestinians with both munitions and basic commercial goods lacking in Gaza.

Asked when the Egyptian wall might be finished, the officer, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said: "If they work 24/7, it will still take a protracted period -- months."

Egyptian officials have said steel tubes were being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose. Unlike Israel, Egypt maintains relations with Hamas and has an Islamist opposition movement.

Citing an unnamed Egyptian intelligence source, Israel's biggest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said the wall would run as deep as 30 metres (yards) and would be rigged with sensors and pressurised hoses to flood tunnels with seawater.

Tunnel-builders say some 3,000 of the underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week Gaza offensive a year ago, but only 150 were still functional following the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.

The Israeli officer said Hamas, using the tunnels, had replenished its rocket and small-arms arsenal since the war.

While Israel believed that Hamas had expanded the reach of the short-range rockets and acquired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles since the war, the Israeli officer said this did not constitute a major qualitative military gain.

"In terms of the weapons they have, I would characterise it as 'more of the same'. What is new is that Hamas is trying to improve its professionalism and the way it operates against our forces."

(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Angus MacSwan)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

the star, 31.12.2009

PM’s wife and Mahathir recognised for helping Gaza aid convoy

KUALA LUMPUR: Wife of the Prime Minister, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor; former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; and Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been singled out by a British politician for their exemplary efforts in helping to push for the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to reach its destination in Gaza.

George Galloway, who is leading the convoy, had told the Al Jazeera TV network that the convoy, carrying essentials and medical aid for Palestinians trapped within an Israeli blockade, must be allowed to proceed. In a report filed on Dec 28 titled Fighting to Break the Gaza Siege, the network had quoted Galloway as saying that medicines brought by the convoy “are in a race against the time of their expiry date and getting spoiled under the desert sun while people in Gaza die for the want of them”.

“The government of Turkey and the respected Premier (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan are trying their best as is the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as well as the wife of the current Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur,” he was quoted as saying.

Galloway also said he had written to Queen Rania of Jordan, asking her to contact Susan Mubarak, first lady of Egypt and head of the Egyptian Red Crescent.

He said there were more than 200 trucks and 500 people from 17 different countries who had given up their Christmas holidays to try and help one and a half million Arabs and Muslims in Gaza. — Bernama

the star, 2 Jan 2010

Freedom march delays entry into Gaza

source: NST 2009/12/28

By Minderjeet Kaur

KUALA LUMPUR: The two Malaysians and other members of the Viva Palestina convoy are still struggling to enter Gaza.They are also frustrated that some of their team members have been turned away at the Cairo Airport as the authorities fear they would participate in the Gaza freedom march to mark one year of the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The Malaysians, Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu, who are also Perdana Peace Global Organisation (PGPO) members, tweeted yesterday that the group should be allowed access into Gaza.

"It has become a battleground when focus should be on Israel," Juana tweeted.

Since they could not join the march to mark the start of Israeli bombing last year, the convoy went on a hunger strike at 11.25am.

They also tweeted, asking everyone to write about their delays and the problems they faced.

"Help us move forward. Also, please write to the Egypt embassy in your countries."

The convoy are still waiting for an approval from the Egyptian government to enter Gaza.

Biting cold caused discomfort, made worse when some of the members received letters which stated that they would have no access to food.

But Juana tweeted: "That is not true. The locals have been very kind to us. We get free lunch and dinner at our meeting point if we do not want to eat out.

"Also some tea."

The delay in entering Gaza is also causing the convoy to dig deeper into their pockets. This is because the Jordanian dinars, Juana said, was more expensive than euro at the moment.

Most of them are just waiting and surfing wifi.

"Hope we get some good news tomorrow. Can't go on hanging about like this."

Perdana Global Peace Organisation members Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu are driving an ambulance donated by the organisation to the people of Gaza.