Egypt uncovers weapons-smuggling tunnel to Gaza

Egypt has discovered a weapons-smuggling tunnel under its border with Gaza, a move that will please Israel which has long accused the Egyptians of failing to stop the flow of arms to Palestinian militants.

Egyptian security officials said the tunnel began in the bedroom cupboard of an Egyptian of Palestinian origin who lives in north-east Sinai.

The tunnel ran 700 metres and emerged in the Gaza house of one of his relatives, the officials in the north Sinai town quoted the man as telling his interrogators.

The officials identified the man as Raed Seif Barhoum and said he had finished the tunnel last month.

Barhoum, who is under arrest, has confessed to using the tunnel to smuggle weapons and explosives into Gaza, the officials said.

Security officials confiscated $13,000 (€10,060) and some automatic rifles from his house.

Police also arrested an alleged partner of Barhoum, who was found with 200 kilograms of TNT, the officials said.

After long rejecting Israel’s allegations that it was not doing enough to stop weapons smuggling, Egypt recently said it would make a greater effort to crack down on the trafficking.

Egypt is concerned that Palestinian militant violence in Gaza could spill over to Sinai, where the Cairo government has its own problem with Islamic extremists.

The security officials said the tunnel would be destroyed soon, either by flooding it with water or by blowing it up.