NEW YORK — Collusion between Egypt and the United States in building a wall separating Egypt from Gaza not only threatens Gazans' health and quality of life, already seriously deteriorating because of the de facto Israeli blockade, but also violates international law.
According to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Egypt is installing an underground metal wall up to 33 meters deep along the border where Palestinians have dug a mazelike array of tunnels to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Construction of the wall, carried out with the collaboration of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been denied by the Egyptian government.
Although Israel claims that the tunnels are used to supply militants of Hamas with explosives and arms, the main function of the tunnels is for transferring food and medicine to the severely deprived Palestinian population in Gaza. The Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave has gone as far as barring the import of flour and other basic food.