Washington - Israel's siege of Gaza has been characterized by words like "humanitarian crisis" and "prison camp," but "profitable" usually is not among them.

Gaza tunnel worker [Zoriah - Flickr]

Israel imposed the siege on Gaza as a security measure to guard itself from Hamas and also to make conditions therein so inhospitable that Gazans would call for the ousting of the Islamist government. But the siege has been hospitable for some.

Reuters' Tom Perry interviewed one of Gaza's smugglers who said the tunnel trade has not only supported him and his family during the siege but has him "set up for life," Perry said in his Tuesday report.

Smuggler Abu Mohammad (not his real name) drives an $80,000 Mercedes and is sending his siblings to receive "the university education he was forced to abandon because his father couldn't afford the fees."

"But ultimately I am risking my life to make money," Abu Mohammad said.

On a good day, the tunnel he runs can make $100,000, he told Perry, but he recognizes the risk associated with his work. Israeli warplanes bomb the tunnel sites near the Egyptian border, tunnels collapse, and there are deterrence efforts from the Egyptian government, though they are mostly ineffective.

"Tunnel work is profitable," he said in his telephone interview with Perry. "By God, even my father doesn't know how much money I have made," he said. But the work is illegal, which he acknowledges, telling Perry his money goes in to multiple bank accounts, and nothing is registered in his name, "in case one day I go to jail." After all, he's not a mere businessman - Abu Mohammad is a smuggler, a profession which carries heavy penalty under international law.

Gaza's cross-border tunnels, which number around 400, ferry food stuffs, construction materials barred by Israel to private projects, and items as large as refrigerators and cars. 

Abu Mohammad's tunnel deals in processed foods and dairy products, but he can also "make special deliveries to order," Perry said. Furniture is popular, Abu Mohammad explained, saying it is cheaper than furniture made in Gaza. Pricing goes "according to weight, volume, quality," Abu Mohammad said.

Hamas, which has governed Gaza since it split with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in 2007, regulates the tunnel trade, Perry said, and Hamas views the trade as "an exceptional response to an exceptional set of circumstances created by the blockade."

Imports into Gaza have been highly restricted since 2007, even after Israel eased the blockade in response to the May 31 flotilla raid, and it is nearly impossible to export goods, causing the Gaza economy to further stagnate.

"This was a good thing for us and a disaster for others," Abu Mohammad said of the blockade.

But the easing of the blockade, announced mid-June, has meant a greater number of items are allowed into Gaza, as Israel traded a list of permitted items for a list of prohibited items to determine what is safe for entry. As a consequence, Abu Mohammad said demand his tunnel wares have begun to drop. "There is no liquidity," he told Perry.

More goods allowed in from Israel and abroad means a more competitive marketplace for the consumer, Perry said. But Abu Mohammad is not too worried. "The siege is still imposed," he told Perry.

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