The Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip is the real target of Hamas

David Brooks argues that Egypt is the real target of the Hamas missiles. After the recent military coup in Egypt, the military leaders closed roughly 95% of the tunnels that connected Egypt to Gaza. In 2013-2014, Egypt’s military has destroyed most of the 1,200 tunnels which were used to smuggle food, weapons and other goods into Gaza, including flooding them with sewage.

Hamas derived 40% of its tax revenue from tariffs on goods that flow through those tunnels. One estimate puts the economic losses at nearly a fifth of the Gazan GDP.

Hamas couldn’t strike at Egypt to end the blockade so it attacked Israel  in a proxy war. If Hamas could emerge as the heroic fighter, if Arab TV screens were filled with dead Palestinian civilians, then public outrage might force Egypt to lift the blockade.

When Mousa Abu Marzook, the deputy chief of the Hamas political bureau, dismissed a plea for a cease-fire, he asked

What are 200 martyrs compared with lifting the siege?

Hamas is firing rockets at Tel Aviv and sending terrorists through tunnels into Israel while aiming at Cairo.

The Gaza Strip has two borders: both Egypt and Israel restrict trade with the Gaza. The Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip is biting much more than the Israeli blockade.

HT: marginalrevolution.com

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