20091211

Egyptian authorities are inserting metal sheets into the ground along the border town of Rafah in a bid to stem the alleged smuggling into Gaza Strip.

Metal sheets are being placed 20 to 30 meters (70 to 100 feet) deep into the ground, a resident of Sarsawiya south of the border said, after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that an underground barrier is being built along Egypt's border with the Palestinian enclave.

Another witness said metal sheets were being inserted into the ground in Dihniya town farther to the south.

Reports that Egypt is building an underground wall are "mainly true," an official stationed near the border said on condition of anonymity.

Palestinians said that the wall will not deter them in their efforts to supply the Gaza Strip which has relied on tunnels since the Zionists closed the enclave after Hamas won elections in Palestine.

Egypt has not officially responded to the reports.

Haaretz reported that Egypt was constructing a massive underground iron wall along the entire nine-to-10 kilometer (six-mile) length of the border.

The daily cited Egyptian sources as saying that the barrier would extend 20 to 30 meters underground in a bid to block all transference.

alalam