(Financial Times-UK) Tobias Buck - Until recently, Gaza tunnel owners like Nasim could expect to make at least $50,000 in net profits every month by smuggling goods from Egypt. Today, however, Nasim says Hamas, whose security officers can be seen in the tunnel area, is taking an ever greater cut of the operators' profits. Moreover, the prices of many smuggled goods have fallen in recent months, thanks to a supply glut. Tunnels have become so efficient that shops all over Gaza are bursting with goods. Coca-Cola, Nescafe, Snickers and Heinz ketchup are both cheap and widely available. Tunnel operators have also flooded Gaza with Korean refrigerators, German food mixers and Chinese air conditioning units. "Everything I demand, I can get," says Abu Amar al-Kahlout, who sells household goods out of a warehouse big enough to accommodate a passenger jet.
2010-05-24 08:23:54Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive