Authorities intensify security measures near Egypt-Gaza border

Egyptian officials are manning the border tunnels in a bid to crackdown on smuggling Arish – Yosry Mohamed Egyptian military forces have been deployed in the border city of Rafah for a second consecutive week, after security officials seized army uniform fabrics being illegally smuggled through the tunnels linking the peninsula to Gaza.
According to eyewitnesses, military forces imposed tight security at the North Sinai city\'s points of entry and exits, along with the border tunnel entrances. Border patrols also mounted a crackdown on motorbikes without number plates.
On Wednesday and Thursday, eyewitnesses said they had spotted two armoured vehicles fitted with a large cannon, manned by a crew of soldiers and two officers, all armed with \"light and heavy weapons.\" The vehicles were reportedly combing the tunnels and various parts of the city, including the streets around a church which had been looted during the events of the revolution.
The international road leading to Rafah remains under heavy security with checkpoints searching cars and checking travellers\' identities. Eyewitnesses in the border area of al-Sarsouriya in Rafah - where the military fabric was captured, north of International Marker number four - as well as in the districts of Halawat, el-Gundi el-Maghoul and Salaheddine, said security in the tunnel area was still on high alert. \"Soldiers are still around the tunnel entrances, patrols are roaming the streets day and night and work has stopped in the dozens of tunnels [which open onto] field. However, the tunnels [which open in] homes are still seeing work, and remain unseen by the army.\"
Locals say that they have seen lorries carrying dirt and rocks on their way to the tunnel area. They believe the army will use the material to close the tunnels.  However, other lorries carrying buildings materials to be smuggled into Gaza via smaller trucks are still entering the tunnels. Locals say the smuggling of cement, irons bars and other buildings materials into Gaza is on the rise. Egyptians have complained that the smuggling of buildings materials out of the country has caused their prices to rise significantly, while locals have criticised security forces manning checkpoints for their failure to stop lorries that are taking these materials to the tunnels.
A local employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity,  said he had been working \"day and night\" collecting tolls on the public road which leads to the tunnel area. The toll, he said, is 15 Egyptian Pounds ($2) per vehicle, but many of the lorry drivers tamper with their number plates by either using different, forged or unreadable plates in order to evade payment.
The toll collector also criticised quarry officials who he accused of trying to evade the payment of fines if their lorries had received tickets. But he said he didn\'t \"go anywhere near\" lorries carrying steel bars or cement \"because they\'re on their way to the tunnels.\"
\"They\'re not associated with the municipality. They\'re with the tunnel owners and come straight from the companies. They\'re usually accompanied by tunnel owners or one of their lookouts who guide them to the tunnel\'s location,\" he explained.
Locals on Salaheddine Street in Rafah said that security forces had banned lorries from taking the road towards the coast, forcing drivers to dump their materials all over the areas of Salaheddine, el-Habasha, el-Nour, el-Tank roundabout, el-Masoura and el-Gundi el-Maghoul. This, locals said, had forced residents in the area to abandon their homes and flee from the constant noise of the  loading equipment, and the fine dust raised by the operations which had caused respiratory problems to many people in the area.
They called on the security forces to tighten control and end the smuggling operations. \"If they must, then they should find a legal way to let goods and materials into the Gaza Strip,\" said one frustrated resident.
Eyewitnesses near the Barahma border crossing said that the tunnels have become \"the easy option\" for Palestinians who forego the Rafah border crossing because \"you don\'t need papers, stamped documents or to queue\" when using the tunnels. A local resident from the Safa neighbourhood of Rafah told Arabstoday about how a Palestinian man, who rents a furnished flat in the neighbourhood, once had a problem with the air conditioning. \"He called an engineer on the Palestinian side of Rafah and he was at the flat in Barahma within an hour. He paid $50 to get there and would have paid $50 to get back.\"
Arabstoday met the aforementioned Palestinian engineer who told us that several Palestinians often visit the Salaheddine area, coming from the Gaza Strip for errands, to visit family members or for a holiday. He claimed that certain taxi companies run a Gaza to Egypt service. \"The cars go to the Barahma area to take Palestinian passengers who would usually come through the tunnels.\"
\"The fare depends on how good the driver is at evading checkpoints and ensuring that his passengers get to their destination safely.\"