Egypt demolishes Sinai homes for Gaza border buffer

[EX500rider]

Source: BBC

Egypt has begun demolishing homes along its border with the Gaza Strip as part of a planned 500m buffer zone that is intended to prevent weapons smuggling.

Residents living along the border with the Palestinian territory have been given 48 hours - and promised compensation - to leave their homes.

The buffer will include water-filled trenches to prevent tunnelling.

Egyptian media accuses Gaza's Hamas administration of aiding militants in Sinai. Hamas denies the charge.



Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29825889

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Wow, 48 hours notice seems a little unfair.

[hot hunk]

1. Sounds like a good idea to me

just should have been done sooner

[uppityperson]

2. 48 hours to move out? Do you think that is adequate?

[candelista]

4. Water-filled trenches are a good idea. nt

The tunnelers risk drowning like rats.

[hot hunk]

3. Where do you think all the missiles they were lobbing on the Israeli civilians were coming from.

Where do you think all the missiles they were lobbing on the Israeli civilians were coming from.

[cpwm17]

5. The authoritarians are pleased n/t

[EX500rider]

8. And the terrorists that run Hamas are not. n/t

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. Nor are the 10,000 Egptians whose homes the government is destroying.

Or all the Palestinians in Gaza who are not members of the Hamas hierarchy, but suffer under the joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade nonetheless. But fuck all those people, right?

[EX500rider]

11. "But fuck all those people, right?"

Apparently Egypt thinks so..

Or all the Palestinians in Gaza who are not members of the Hamas hierarchy, but suffer under the joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade nonetheless

Sucks for them but I can understand Egypt and Israel not wanting weapons to go in either direction. Maybe they shouldn't have voted in Hamas...the one time they allowed a vote that is.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Sisi thinks so. I hope it comes back and bites him on the ass.

I doubt Egyptian public opinion is with him on destroying the homes of 10,000 Egyptians. But who knows? Because his dictatorship controls the media.

Frankly, Sisi blaming Hamas for weapons is the Sinai is--what's a polite word?--disengenuous.

I support the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination.

[LeftishBrit]

14. Maybe a lot of people shouldn't have voted in their current governments

By the way, like many ruling parties, Hamas was elected by a minority of the voters (less than 45%), as there were several parties.

The problems of the Palestinians always seem to be blamed either on themselves, or JUST on Israel. Yes, Israel treats them badly, and their own government isn't exactly great; but the Arab states seem mostly to escape blame in this situation; and yet they have not been great in their treatment of the Palestinians either, as shown here re Egypt.

[wordpix]

16. The blockade is there for a reason - M-302's for one

These missiles have a range of 90-160 km and can penetrate deep into Israel. Not only that, but Hamas has a long history of bringing weapons through the Sinai to Gaza. And BTW, at least some of the Hamas leaders have become billionaires and I have never read a report about their spending their billions, or even a few million, on their poverty stricken Gazan fellows experiencing over 40% unemployment. And guess where these fat cats made their money? Some, maybe most of it was made by gouging Palestinians with things like charging them 8x the price of Egyptian oil, and then taxing goods brought through the tunnels at the rate of 20%.

You're right about one thing---not all Gazans are members of the Hamas hierarchy. They need to be informed about how rich their Hamas overseers have become ---on the backs of their own poor.

[oldandhappy]

6. Berlin??

[ancianita]

7. Finally. Taking responsibility for preventing future violence. Hope this works. nt

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. This atrocious move by the Egyptian military dictatorship will solve nothing.

And probably make things even worse for Sisi in the Sinai.

He is running 10,000 Egyptians out of their homes and destroying them, with very little notice and inadequate compensation (if that ever happens at all). You think those people are happy with their government now?

He is also punishing the Palestinians in Gaza by closing the border crossing. What an asshole. A real buddy for Netanyahu.

Egyptian radicals are awash in weapons already, and blaming Hamas is just par for the course for Sisi, who hates Hamas because it was allied with Muslim Brotherhood, whose president he overthrew and whose members he gunned down in the streets by the thousands and has imprisoned by the thousands.

Sisi deserves the fate of his military dictator predecessor, Sadat.

And this place seems to be crawling with low-post count trollish types these days.

[cpwm17]

15. +1,000,000 n/t

[LeftishBrit]

13. 48 hours notice - indeed unfair.