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European monitors say gateway operates properly, despite Israeli security claims
Jump to full article: Saint Paul (MN) Pioneer Press, 2007-03-11
Author: KARIN LAUB Associated Press
Intro: A Palestinian customs inspector carried an armload of cigarette cartons he had just seized from a Palestinian traveler at the Gaza-Egypt border and dropped them in a room for confiscated goods.
For European monitors stationed at the border's Rafah terminal, such scenes are proof that the Palestinian-controlled crossing, Gaza's only gateway to the world, is operating properly. They say contraband is caught in meticulous checks -- though they acknowledge they can't stop the flow of cash to the Hamas-led government. . . .
The most popular contraband is cigarettes, with 3,000 to 5,000 cartons seized every day, a German customs inspector said. Only two cartons are allowed per person, but with cigarettes costing 10 times as much in Gaza as in Egypt, the temptation is overpowering.
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