Gaza smuggling tunnels hit by recession, fuel crisis

The smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt Gaza – Mohammed Habib Recession has wormed its way into the smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, while Egyptian suppliers and their Palestinian counterparts clashed after a raise in the taxes imposed by the Palestinian Gaza government and Egyptian authorities on the smuggled commodities.
Tunnel owners in Rafah, south Gaza Strip, said that their work has suffered a “sharp recession” due to the increased taxes, resulting in a drastic decrease in their revenue.
They explained that Egyptian suppliers reduced the amount of commodities they bring to the tunnels due to the decrease in their financial return, whereas some commodities of high demand, like spare parts for cars and motorbikes, are banned.
Tunnel workers stated that the amount of smuggled construction material and fuel derivatives were greatly declining, although the local market depends solely on the tunnels to be provided with such commodities.
In addition to the raised taxes imposed by the Gaza government, fuel prices have significantly increased from the Egyptian side, said the workers.
The high prices of the fuel are raised even higher by the Egyptian suppliers, which in turn raises the taxes that tunnel owners have to pay the government.
The Gaza Strip witnessed a considerable lack of various kinds of fuel last week, which negatively impacted the work of some factories and the mobility of vehicles.