Jerusalem - Israel’s Defense Ministry has started construction on an underwater barrier which will stretch from the southern Israeli community of Zikim into the Mediterranean Sea to stave off Hamas infiltration by sea.
According to the head of the Ministry of Defense Engineering and Construction Department, Erez Cohen, the work on the naval barrier is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The barrier is made up of three layers including one below the sea level, a layer of armored stone and a third layer in the form of a mound. In addition to the three layers, a fence will surround the breakwater in order to provide a final security measure.
“This is the only obstacle of its kind in the world, which will effectively block the possibility of infiltrating into Israel via the sea, and this will further thwart Hamas’ loss of strategic capabilities,” said Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.
The decision to build an upgraded naval barrier was decided upon after five Hamas naval commandos, called frogmen, tried to infiltrate Kibbutz Zikim during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, armed with automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and several types of explosives devices. They were engaged and killed by the IDF in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air.
Hamas has significantly expanded their naval commando unit to a reported 1,500 frogmen in the four years since the last conflict, and the new barrier, which has been designed to withstand severe sea conditions and serve the defense establishment for many years, is aimed at preventing similar incidents.
The border with Gaza is Israel’s most explosive, and thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated along the Gaza-Israel security fence since March 30. At least 116 have been killed by IDF fire and over 13,000 wounded since the “Great March of Return” began. Read more at JPost
