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Saturday, July 16, 2011

The suffocating Egyptian siege of Gaza continues

From Ma'an:
Egyptian border guards thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 20 tons of cement into Gaza via tunnels along the border, security sources told Ma'an.

Palestinian and Egyptian smugglers were involved in the effort to bring large amounts of building materials into the besieged enclave, they added. The smugglers fled the scene.

Forces raided the area and seized 430 bags of cement, the security officials said. The cement will be sold at auction and the tunnel will be blocked by stones, they added.
Since this was Egypt's decision alone, and since there is nothing blocking cement from entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing, one can only conclude that Egypt is imposing a siege on Gaza.

Just waiting for the protests in front of Egyptian embassies in Europe. And, of course, for the enraged op-eds in the Arab media against Egypt for imposing a collective punishment on poor Gazans. Not to mention the UN condemnations.