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Latest News 
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Interview with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff 
RAFAH,
Palestine -- Egyptian troops are pressing ahead with the demolition of
hundreds of homes along the border with the Gaza Strip, cutting off
electricity and firing warning shots in the air in a heavy-handed
campaign to evict thousands of residents from the volatile area.
The
forced evacuations in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are further alienating a
restive population with longstanding grievances against the government
of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, raising the risk of more
violence in the lawless region.
The
demolitions, meant to halt the smuggling of weapons and militants in and
out of Gaza, have also put pressure on Hamas, the militant group that
controls Gaza and has long counted on smuggling tunnels as its lifeline.
Egypt
announced the demolition plan last month after militants killed 31
Egyptian troops in an assault on a checkpoint 20 miles (30 kilometers)
from Rafah. Egypt has long accused Islamic militants of using smuggling
tunnels to move in and out of Gaza and announced it would clear out a
500-yard-wide (meter) buffer zone along the border.
In
recent days, Egyptian forces have steadily cleared out residents and
dynamited several homes each day. The goal is to raze 800 homes and
force out 10,000 residents.
Security officials say the operation is going smoothly and should be completed within two or three weeks.
Residents say there is little they can do.
"We
have no options but silence and lining up behind the military. This is
not the time to clash with the state because any clash with the state
will be perceived as a betrayal to Egypt," said Said Aitaq. He lives
about 1 1/2 miles beyond the buffer zone, but says residents fear the
area will be expanded to up to three miles.
Rafah
was split into two halves - one Palestinian and one Egyptian - after
Egypt signed its peace agreement with Israel in 1978. While Egypt has
sealed off its side of the city and barred journalists from entering,
scenes of the operation are visible from the Gaza side of the border.
The
Egyptian side of the city is under curfew from dawn to dusk, and
electricity and water are cut off during the day as homes are being
demolished, residents reached by phone told The Associated Press.
Egyptian troops order people to leave with just a day's notice, they said.
"The
situation is hellish. We don't know where we will go. We put our things
at the place of a friend until we know where we are going," said one
resident, who gave only his first name, Abu Mohammed, for fear he would
be punished by the security forces or risk losing compensation.
"You
can't protest. They are strong and well-armed," he said of the troops,
who residents said are accompanied by dogs and occasionally fire into
the air.
Egypt has offered compensation of
roughly $20,000 to $30,000 per home - a sum that residents say does not
come close to replacing their losses. They say the compensation process
is bureaucratic and there is little time to find new housing.
One
man, who requested anonymity because of safety fears, said his
70-member extended family moved from a four-story building into a
single-floor space of just 1,300 square feet after they were told their
home would be destroyed.
"We are big families, extended families. We can't just scatter and go away. We have been living here for decades," he said.
On
Tuesday, an excavator could be seen flattening a home, followed by a
loud explosion that rocked the area and elicited panicked screams from
schoolchildren on the Palestinian side of the city. The students covered
their faces with jackets to keep from inhaling the yellowish smoke.
As the air cleared, two flattened concrete homes could be seen.
"The
kids are always tense. In the day, there are the blasts. In the night,
we hear heavy shooting," said Majdi Yousef, a 38-year-old carpenter who
lives in an apartment building on the Gaza side that overlooks the
border.
Residents say the forces dynamite
several apartment buildings a day, and bulldozers flatten another 20
homes. They say few people have received payouts yet.
Egypt's
Foreign Ministry said families would receive a down payment to cover
three months of rent and full compensation once their property is
appraised. The ministry said 30 families had received compensation as of
Sunday.
The state will pay up to $140 million
in compensation, el-Sissi said earlier this week. He praised the people
of Sinai and accused unnamed factions of "trying to sow discord between
the people of Sinai and the Egyptian state."
North
Sinai is one of Egypt's poorest districts, and the local population has
complained of neglect and discrimination for decades.
Aitaq said the forced evictions could lead some people to join militant groups.
"I am afraid that these groups will only find more supporters because of this plan," he said.
Over
the past decade, the northern region of the Sinai Peninsula has become a
hub for Islamic extremists, and the insurgency has spiked since last
year's military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
No
one has claimed responsibility for the deadly Oct. 24 attack. But
el-Sissi has made no secret about his disdain for Hamas - the
ideological ally of Morsi.
Since taking power
last year, el-Sissi's government has destroyed most of Hamas' smuggling
tunnels. The new buffer zone appears to be aimed at stamping out the
last remnants. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said security forces have
found dozens of tunnels under evacuated houses.
The
crackdown has been accompanied by Egypt's closure of the Rafah border
crossing - the main gateway for Gazans to the outside world.
Hamas
spokesman Salah Bardawil said the demolitions on the Egyptian side
change little since the tunnels have already been closed for more than a
year. "We say it's Egyptian land and it's the Egyptians' right to do
this," he said.
Other Hamas officials said they
believe Egypt is trying to crush the group, but refused to go on the
record with those comments, for fear that criticism of the el-Sissi
government would invite further sanctions.
---
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