Egyptian army seizes military fabrics in Gaza tunnel; fears impersonation (update)

Every day the Egyptian media has a new story about how Hamas or Gazans cannot be trusted. Here's today's:

The military has started an investigation over fabric it says it seized in a tunnel to Gaza to find out why the fabric was smuggled, where it was being taken and how it would impact national security, a military source in North Sinai Governorate said.

A military spokesperson had said earlier Sunday that the Armed Forces seized fabric printed with patterns similar to security forces’ uniforms, warning people to be aware, in case the fabric is used to impersonate security personnel.

The military arrested two people present at the entrance of the tunnel, the North Sinai source told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that military intelligence officers formed the investigation team.

The source said preliminary investigations with the two suspects are under way at a military area in North Sinai. The military is also looking for five other Egyptian suspects, whom it said would be interrogated within hours.

The source said investigations could indicate whether Gazans were involved in Egypt’s ongoing security problems, as well as raise questions on whether Gazans were also involved in killing demonstrators during the 25 January revolution.

The announcement came after a military source told independent daily Al-Shorouk that the perpetrators of a deadly attack on a Rafah army camp last August, which killed 16 Egyptian soldiers, included 40 Palestinian jihadis.

That story about the 40 jihadis was yesterday's anti-Gaza story in Egypt.

Yet even after Egypt's crackdown on the tunnels at the Gaza border, one still isn't seeing any demonstrations on college campuses or UN resolutions or "human rights" organization reports about the Egyptian "siege" of Gaza.

Funny, that.

Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh, alarmed at the deterioration in its relationship with Egypt, reportedly told an Egyptian Wafd party leader that "Egyptian blood is more valuable than Palestinian blood" in an attempt to calm the situation.

UPDATE: A Hamas spokesman said that the materials "could" have been used for children's clothing.

Taher al-Nounou, a spokesman for the Hamas government, said in an interview with Egypt’s al-Mihwar television, “This fabric could be used in children’s clothing, and you know children tend to wear such [military] clothing in festivities.”

Yeah, that's convincing.