Egypt will destroy some smuggling tunnels under the border with the Gaza Strip as part of a campaign to restore order in the lawless Sinai peninsula, an Egyptian diplomat said Sunday.
A "limited" number of tunnels will be destroyed "for being used in activities that harm the Egyptian national security and to prevent the movement of individuals who may cause disorder," said Yasser Othman, the Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, Xinhua reported.
When Israel imposed a nearly total closure on Gaza in 2007, the tunnels beneath Gaza-Egypt borders became the lifeline for the coastal enclave.
After Israel eased the blockade in June 2010, allowing more goods into Gaza through overland commercial crossings, the network of tunnels were used mostly to bring in fuel and construction materials, and sometimes by people who wanted to enter Sinai illegally.