Al-Arish, Egypt: The knocking sound underneath the carpet startled nobody in the room. Ahmed Mughanem had lived in al-Arish long enough to understand the rapping on the floorboards under the machine woven faded rug that lined the sitting room at his friend’s house. Mughanem smiled and moved swiftly to lift the aged carpet from its place on the floor to reveal a wooden trap door, of sorts.

The steel handle was quickly lifted to reveal a row of stairs that descended into the darkness of what could have been a basement. It was too dark to be a basement. The once dirt-lined the walls highlighted the uniqueness of the home. When a head poked out, covered in dirt, it became obvious Mughanem had followed through on his promise to show one of the scores of smuggling tunnels that link Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula around the towns of al-Arish and Rafah to Gaza’s own Rafah just across the chain linked fence that intersects the two lands.

It is almost complete he says, only the finishing touches deep underground are needed, but for him, the tunnels construction is the least of his concerns.

“We don’t support Hamas, we support our people in Palestine and the resistance of occupation and control,” Mughanem reveals, helping the new member of the team out of the hole that was used to move contraband, mainly cigarettes and cooking oil join the tea party that seemingly continued without pause. The conversation moved smoothly from the situation facing their fellow Palestinians in Gaza and last summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa and the match between Egypt and Algeria.

He prefers the Confederations Cup.

“If only Americans were as committed to defense in football as they are in foreign policy the world would be better,” said the now cleaned and refreshed Mahmoud, garnering the laughter of his friends.

Mahmoud usually stays in al-Arish for only a few days at a time, packaging up carts of supplies before risking his life to deliver the goods back into Gaza. He has no visa and if arrested could face imprisonment.

Most days, Mughanem drives a taxi around the small town of al-Arish, earning enough money to support his family of two children and a wife. His family is from Khan Yunis just across the border in Gaza, but he hasn’t been since he was a young boy. This is why it is important, he says, to support his family and friends in Gaza.

Mahmoud, after having washed off the dust from the tunnel closes the wooden door and places the carpet across the entrance to the tunnel Israel has been pressuring Egypt to crackdown upon. It is as if it never existed.

For the most part, the group of 30-something Palestinians sipping their tea argues, the Egyptian police and military have left them alone, knowing full well what is going on in Sinai.

An Egyptian aid worker, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation along the border, said that on a trip to Rafah in early 2009, he witnessed first hand how Egyptians soldiers literally turn a “blind eye” to what was going on.

“I saw a group of people carrying huge bundles of what looked like supplies and were heading off to some homes in the distance where tunnels were known to be, but the police literally looked at them and turned away and walked off as if nothing was going on. They are turning a blind eye,” the aid worker admitted seeing.

Their cause is Palestine and getting the necessary foodstuffs to a people under a two-year economic blockade that arose following Hamas’ takeover the small Mediterranean strip of land in June 2007. Israel, hoping to weaken the Islamic party believed, and still does, that the blockade will end support of Hamas by the 1.5 million Gazans. It hasn’t.

Mughanem, his man in the tunnel, Mahmoud, and the others sitting around relaxing, believe it has done the opposite, giving Hamas more credibility with Palestinians.

“They [Palestinians] see it as ‘look at what the Zionists are doing’ so why do you want someone weak who can’t supply you with what you need. It is ridiculous and they only survive so strong is because Israel is unwilling to give us our lives and let us live in peace,” Mughanem adds, pointing to the tunnel, “this is the lifeline to my people.”

The tunnels, with their transferring of mainly food, cigarettes, oil and other essential items, have come under threat in recent months, with the Egyptians more willing to keep a watchful eye on the Palestinians living near the Gaza border.

“Things are changing,” begins Mughanem, “we have seen tunnels being blown up by Egyptian security and people are inside them. They die. It is ridiculous that we aren’t allowed to support our people.”

Certainly they are. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu putting immense pressure on his Egyptian counterparts to produce results along the lengthy Sinai border in an effort to end smuggling, Cairo has responded with a bolstered force along the Gaza border.

On July 26, Egyptians showed their willingness to do Israel’s bidding, destroying a handful of tunnels in the biggest show of strength to date. Unfortunately for the Egyptian image abroad, seven Palestinians were still inside when the tunnels imploded. All 7 men inside were killed; in an incident that Mughanem says shows the difficulty of supporting their countrymen.

Possibly prematurely, Palestinians and especially Hamas officials in Gaza are putting a lot of faith that American President Barack Obama will bring an end to more than two years of economic blockade and give Palestinians a new path toward peace.

“We think he is a fair and decent person and he is a friend that we would like to work with in the future,” said deposed Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Youssef.

Not to worry, Hamas is not looking to the distant future for change. “We need action now,” Youssef added.

Washington appears ready to step up the game, but not in Palestinians favor, smugglers argue. According to reports from the Kansas National Guard, some 425 members of the American National Guard, who had been training in the U.S., are to be deployed, or have been already, to the North African nation as part of a security bolstering along the border. Confirmation of this continues to allude local media.

The Egyptian government has continued to deny any deployment of American troops, but in mid-July, the National Guard soldiers were honored before allegedly leaving for an eventual deployment in Egypt. They appear to be coming, or are possibly on the ground already, and for Mughanem and others, it’s not good news.

They believe that with American soldiers on the ground, the tunnel industry will quickly become extinct, but it could also open up a new territory in a growing conflict.

“If there are foreign troops coming in to stop us from helping our people then there could be violence against them,” he argued.

At the same time, the overall goal of the majority of smugglers has been to give Palestinians the opportunity to live their lives. Without the necessary supplies to do so, smuggling has become one of the only lifelines for Gazans.

It could be an opportunity for America to do some good in the region, Mughanem believes. He says that if the troops enter Sinai with the intention of maintaining security and to reopen the border between Egypt and Gaza, it could be a blessing for Palestinians.

“If they can get the border open, then we will be happy because it means we won’t have to risk our friends’ lives to get food and other things across the border in the tunnels, but if they don’t, be careful.”

Palestinians are frustrated that the border with Egypt – Gaza’s only lifeline that does not include Israel – has been nearly continuously closed. Cairo asserts that according to the conditions agreed upon when Israel removed its military presence in Gaza nearly five years ago, European Union monitors, Israeli cameras and the Palestinian Authority must be present for the border to be open.

Egypt does allow students and Palestinians in need of medical assistance to cross for a few days each month, but it’s not enough to get supplies into the territory, smugglers argue.

“The Egyptians don’t let in all the aid, they don’t let people pass the border even with proper passes, so what are we supposed to do, wait and let our land go to waste? I don’t think so,” argued Mahmoud, before heading back into the dirt, dark and small tunnel with bags of supplies he hopes to deliver to needy people.

With flashlight in hand, Mahmoud is lowered to the ground with the help of Mughanem, who wishes him luck. It’s that dangerous and there appears to be no end in sight.

BM

Keep advertising off Bikya Masr - donate $1 to allow this to be possible