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Hamas calls on Egypt to stop flooding Gaza tunnels with salty water

Xinhua, September 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday called on Egypt to stop flooding pools of salty water along the Gaza Strip's border to prevent digging smuggling tunnels.

Hamas refused the Egyptian project of digging pools along the Gaza Strip border with Egypt and filling them with salty water, said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.

"The move represents a major threat to groundwater and a large number of houses on the Palestinian side of the borders," said Abu Zuhri, adding that Hamas is contacting Cairo to stop the move.

Since Friday morning, the Egyptian army has started pumping large amount of seawater the Mediterranean Sea to large pipes that have recently been extended across the border connecting Gaza and Egypt.

Filling the holes and pools with seawater aims to destroy dozens of tunnels that have been in use since 2008 to smuggle food, medicine and construction materials from Egypt to Gaza.

Eyewitnesses said the Egyptian army lined up pipes into the ditches to pump seawater in the tunnels at Rafah borderline on Friday.

Abu Zuhri accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of advising Egypt to carry out the measure, which is a "further evidence of the role of Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza blockade and stifle." Endit