Israel Matzav

Tunneling to nosomewhere?

Last Tuesday, the Israeli media reported that the 'Palestinian' police had discovered a Gaza-like tunnel underneath Hebron and 'immediately' called in the IDF to deal with it. This was considered a big deal because it was the first tunnel that had been dug in Judea or Samaria that was big enough for a person to stand up inside. But the tunnel was a puzzle. It was nowhere near the Jewish community in Hebron. And it was empty. Over the weekend, part of the real story started to emerge. And I think I just might have figured out the rest of it.

The 150-meter-long tunnel was discovered by Palestinian Authority security forces on Monday and was immediately reported to the IDF, which sent an Engineering Corps force to destroy the structure.

IDF sources and defense officials said Tuesday that the tunnel had been found empty and that it was unclear what its purpose was.

The Post learned on Thursday, however, that several hundred kilograms of explosives and arms were found in a branch of the tunnel and that the PA security forces confiscated it before informing the IDF of the discovery.

Despite several inquiries, it was unclear Thursday night why the IDF did not reveal this information.

Let's stop right there for a minute. WHERE did all of those weapons go? Obviously, back to the 'Palestinians' who put them there, which shows us all the limits of 'Palestinian' cooperation with the IDF and the security forces. But to where were they tunneling? And what were they planning to do with all those weapons?

On Tuesday, the IDF said the tunnel had not yet been completed. According to one source, it was far from both the city's Jewish enclave and the West Bank security barrier and therefore raised speculation regarding its purpose.

The tunnel was being dug in the general direction of Route 35 near Tarkumiya.

One possibility, a defense official said, was that Hamas had been digging the tunnel so its terrorists could move freely through the city without being detected by the IDF or Fatah.

I can think of another, more likely possibility. Look at the picture at the left of this post. It was taken in Tarqumiya. Tarqumiya is a 'checkpoint,' a crossing point between Judea and pre-1967 Israel. Could the checkpoint have been the tunnel's target? Bet on it.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:56 PM