Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak released a statement defending his planned underground barrier to halt the smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza.

According to media reports, the Egyptian leader told top police commanders that following terror attacks in Sinai, the underground steel wall project was launched, intended to cut off the underground smuggling of weapons and black-market goods into Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Hamas officials in Gaza are working to muster support against Israel, seeking to depict Mubarak as the architect of what it is calling the “Wall of Death”, leading to a number of protests in Arabs countries including Jordan and Lebanon.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)