As part of its agreement in brokering the end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Egypt will launch an “extraordinary” crackdown on the tunnel industry in the Gaza Strip, the network of hundreds of smuggling tunnels used to deliver anything from people to automobiles from Egypt. The Palestinian Ma’an news agency quoted an Egyptian official as saying the tunnels are already functioning at a mere 5% of levels before Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense – the weeklong aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip that ended last week. The truce agreement promises Israel an end to the practice. Since the forcible take-over of Gaza by Hamas in 2007, Israel has imposed a blockade that prevents goods it argues can be used for military purposes from entering Gaza. Over the years, the phenomenon of smuggling tunnels has developed into an economy of its own. According to terms of the cease-fire, that will end. But the agreement will also see to the expanded use of the existing crossing points and increase in the import of goods, obviating most of the need for the tunnel trade which was estimated to be about 47% of all goods entering Gaza for use by the population. Meanwhile in Cairo, the stand-off between President Morsi and hundreds of thousands of protestors demanding that he retract his edict placing his word above judicial review continues. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group Morsi led before his election, has stood firm, insisting that Morsi will stand by his word but that the new constitution will be ready to be implemented this week and will obviate the problem. Observers doubt that, predicting that the over-reach of power Morsi is being accused of will be codified into the new constitution pointing out that the panel drafting the document and the document itself are, according to the president, immune to judicial review.