Middle East Politics.Net » Sinai http://middleeastpolitics.net Facts, News, Trends, Analysis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Gaza Fuel Smuggling Hits Egypt http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/gaza-fuel-smuggling-hits-egypt/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/gaza-fuel-smuggling-hits-egypt/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:18:00 +0000 aljoaan http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2863 The smuggling of fuel to Gaza is commonplace amid Israeli restrictions on access to the territory. Egyptian officials have said that the north of Egypt’s Sinai region is running out of fuel due to smuggling operations across the border to the Gaza Strip, which is being blockaded by Israel. Local officials have said that agricultural work in Sinai is being restricted because there is not enough fuel left in the north of the peninsula for machinery to operate. “Smuggling to Gaza through tunnels has led to a drastic reduction in fuel supplies at petrol stations” in the northern Sinai, Mohammed Hussein, a senior official of the Sinai governorate, told Reuters. The smuggling operations to Gaza come as Israel continues to impose a blockade on the Palestinian territory. Over the past month, the authorities in northern Sinai have imposed a ban on the sale of fuel in jerry cans, except for agricultural purposes. Petrol stations have also been instructed to close overnight. Almost 170,000 liters of fuel that was being bound for Gaza to be sold on the black market was seized last week by Sinai authorities, officials have said. Israel has said that the crossing point between Gaza and Israel will remain sealed, despite calls from the United Nations and human rights organizations to restore access so that Gazans can receive essential supplies.

Ahmad Aljoaan

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/25/gaza-fuel-smuggling-hits-egypt/feed/ 0 Heavy Troop Deployment near Egypt-Israel Border http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/13/heavy-troop-deployment-near-egypt-israel-borders/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/11/13/heavy-troop-deployment-near-egypt-israel-borders/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:12:15 +0000 alqassar http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=2324 According to an Egyptian security official, large numbers of Egyptian security forces have been ordered on Wednesday to Egypt-Israel border area in the Sinai Peninsula in an attempt to stave off any further strife with restive Bedouin tribes.

Due to the fact that a Bedouin smuggler was shot to death by border officials, angry tribesmen attacked two Egyptian police border posts and seized 70 members of the security forces, disarming them. In addition, dozens of armored vehicles have already arrived at the border area after a day of violent clashes between angry Bedouins and police that left three Bedouins dead and five police injured.

A delegation of Interior Ministry officials and high-ranking officers will be holding talks with influential Bedouin figures in Sinai to neutralize tensions.

The impoverished Bedouin of the northern Sinai have been restive for years, often demonstrating over neglect by the central government and the draconian security sweeps taking place in the wake of terrorist incidents. The Bedouin have also been implicated in the smuggling of drugs and people into Israel as well as weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip.

Yousif Al Qassar

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