As Israeli Siege Strangles Gaza Strip, Hamas, Smugglers Profit Off Tunnels

Israeli officials say they are well aware of the massive scale of the smuggling and that Hamas benefits from it. Hamas and its allies have launched daily rocket salvos from Gaza; while many of the rockets appear homemade, Israel believes that some of the group's more advanced weaponry has been smuggled in from Iran via the Egyptian tunnels.

A report issued this week by Israel's internal Shin Bet security service asserted that Hamas has used the tunnels to bring in longer-range rockets, thousands of pounds of explosives and even experts in warfare who can train Hamas recruits. Under the truce deal announced Tuesday, Israel is demanding that Hamas end all smuggling related to its military wing.

But Israel also seems reluctant to try to stop the smuggling altogether because it would increase the pressure to allow more supplies through the official crossings.

"The best thing from our point of view is that there would be no smuggling of ammunition. We don't care about the other things," said Shlomo Dror, spokesman for Israel's Defense Ministry.

Israel's hope in imposing the siege was to employ economic pressure to weaken Hamas, forcing Gazans to turn against the group as their suffering made them long for better days under the rival Fatah party.

There are indications that the strategy is working -- to a point. In 2006, Hamas won legislative elections in a landslide. But a poll released this month found that Hamas's popularity in Gaza had recently plummeted, with only 39 percent favoring the group's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, compared with 56 percent for Fatah boss Mahmoud Abbas.

But if Hamas's popularity is declining, its power seems to grow.

"For anything that comes through the tunnel, either they take taxes or they confiscate half the goods," said Mahmoud Qeshtah, a 21-year-old candy salesman. "Day after day we are dying, and Hamas is responsible."

Qeshtah is resigned to paying Hamas when the group's representatives come to collect. Everything he sells has been smuggled in through the tunnels, and he does not want to risk being shut down.

Hamas's official policy is that the smuggling is illegal and should be stopped. "Like any other country in the world where there are shortages, a black market develops. It's normal," said Ziad al-Zaza, the economics minister in Gaza and a Hamas member. "But we are going after it, and we have managed to stop most aspects of this market."

Asked if Hamas earns any money from the smuggling, Zaza denied it. "Not one penny," he said.

But on the border, it's a different story.