Egypt’s military junta, continuing with its mass destruction of tunnels in the Sinai Peninsula connecting it to the Gaza Strip, have bulldozed 13 homes now, with an eye on creating a “buffer zone.”
The homes’ destruction was part of the military’s ongoing Sinai crackdown, and the civilian residents of the area say they were evicted with no compensation, and told that the 500 meter wide area is going to be a “no-go” area.
Sinai tunnels were a major part of the Gaza economy for years during Israel’s blockade, but after the election of the Morsi government open trade with Gaza began to be more and more common, since the military’s takeover, they are blockading the strip entirely.
Having barred all legal trade with Gaza, an effort to punish the Hamas government in the strip for being friendly with the ousted, elected government of Egypt, the junta now seems determined to cut off all extra-legal trade as well, fueling a growing crisis in the strip and forcing Gazans to turn to Israel as the less-unreasonable neighbor.
