GAZA SUBMERGED BY SEAWATER PUMPED BY EGYPT

Gaza, 21 Muharram 1437/3 November 2015 (MINA) – Palestine’s interior ministry in Gaza said  that wide swathes of land have been submerged by seawater pumped by the Egyptian army to flood the tunnels linking Egypt with the coastal enclave, Quds Press reported.

In a statement, the ministry said that: “The Egyptian army continues pumping seawater into the soil [along the Gaza Strip borders with Egypt] and flooding the tunnels.”

About two months ago, the Egyptian army started pumping seawater into the border area in order to submerge the tunnels. Middle  East Monitor (MEMO) reported, Tuesday (3/11).

Before the start of the military rule in Egypt in August 2013, the tunnels were used for smuggling essential supplies for Palestinians, who have been under a strict Israeli and Egyptian siege since mid-2007.

The Egyptian army has been pumping large volumes of Mediterranean Sea waters since Sept. 17 into the buffer zone that it began building two years ago, along 14 kilometers of the Palestinian-Egyptian border. The move is the latest attempt to destroy the tunnels dug by Palestinians under the city of Rafah over the years of the Israeli blockade.

Summary Print Experts say the effects of the Egyptian army pumping seawater into the tunnels under Rafah will be disastrous for the Palestinian economy and agriculture. AuthorMohammed OthmanPosted September 25, 2015 TranslatorKamal Fayad

The operation is causing concern for the Rafah border area inhabitants, who say that it will affect their lives there. Farmer Nayef Abu Shallouf, who owns three acres of land less than 300 meters from the Egyptian border, said all the salt water will leave his land briny and destroy his crops. He told Al-Monitor, “In addition to damaging the soil, sinkholes will appear wherever tunnels were dug, with collapses occurring sooner or later. Al jazeerah reported.(T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)