Gaza Tunnel Smugglers Grow Under Hamas:

From Gaza Tunnel Smugglers Grow Under Hamas:

The southern Gaza town of Rafah has long been a key conduit for underground weapons-smuggling - mostly controlled by a handful of local clans. With closure of Gaza's borders in the wake of Hamas militants' violent seizure of the territory in June, more and more smugglers are taking a piece of the action. Smugglers find themselves pursued by Israel, which fears militants' growing arsenal; by Egypt, which is under growing pressure to crack down on tunnel diggers; and by Hamas, which does not oppose tunnels but wants to control them. Some tunnels are squarely in Hamas' hands - and Israeli officials say arms smuggling by the militant group is going strong. "The Hamas terror organization continues to busy itself with the smuggling of huge quantities of weapons for use against Israel. These tunnels continue to be the main source of the weapons supplies to Palestinian terrorists,'' said Israeli government spokesman David Baker.