by Lilach Shoval and Israel Hayom Staff
The 37-mile barrier, with underground and underwater sections, "will be built with or without another fight with Hamas," says GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir
Construction along the
Israel-Gaza border
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
"We are taking action and will not be
complacent toward the threat [from Gaza]. We have a solution," IDF GOC
Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a press briefing Wednesday
on the underground concrete wall Israel is building around the Gaza
Strip to combat the threat posed by Hamas' grid of terror tunnels.
"All the legitimacy, all the justification,
ethical and moral, is with us. Now the dilemma is with the other side.
Hamas will have to reassess the situation; the ball is in its court.
From our perspective, building this wall around Gaza can lead to a
dangerous escalation. This wall will be built, with or without another
fight with Hamas," Zamir said.
The belief within Southern Command is that the
wall being built around Gaza could prod Hamas to alter its policy from
the past three years and initiate hostilities with Israel. Amid this
concern, Zamir delivered an unveiled message to Hamas and emphasized
that the IDF is prepared and deployed for a clash with the Gaza-based
terrorist group.
The 60-kilometer (37-mile) barrier, which will
be built entirely in Israeli territory some 250 meters (820 feet) from
the Gaza border, has an underground section made from European
bentonite. At 80 centimeters (31 inches) wide, the barrier has a system
of advanced sensor and monitoring devices to detect tunnels, while above
ground there will be a fence 6 meters (around 20 feet) high, similar to
the one which runs along the Israeli-Egyptian border.
The expected cost of construction is over NIS 3
billion ($830 million) and should be completed within two years. In
recent days the project has picked up steam, with construction teams
working in around 10 different locations along the border, mainly in the
northern sector and sections adjacent to Israeli communities.
As early as November, some 40 teams will be working simultaneously, with the goal of finishing the barrier within two years.
The defense establishment is concerned that
Hamas will try challenging the IDF during the construction work.
Consequently, army units protecting the construction teams and their
work along the border have been reinforced.
The IDF says the barrier will change the
reality on the ground for both Israel and Hamas, and is confident that
no tunnel will be able to cross it. The underground sensors will alert
the military to any attempt to breach the barrier and the IDF has
developed procedures to respond in cases where an alert is received.
Where the above-ground fence meets the
Mediterranean Sea in the northern sector, the IDF plans to build an
underwater barrier, much a like a breakwater. A fence with sensors will
be built above the breakwater to detect infiltration attempts. Six
cement factories are currently being built around the Gaza Strip to
facilitate the project, meant to reduce the cost of having the cement
delivered.
The IDF said it has run multiple field tests
recently and that "red teams" have been trying repeatedly to find holes
in the system. With that, the stringent approach within the IDF
stipulates that any barrier can be breached, and has prepared
accordingly for those cases as well.
Patrol roads will also be built on both sides
of the fence. Both roads, as stated will be inside Israeli territory.
The existing security fence along the border will remain in place
unaltered.
'Hamas is deterred and restrained'
The assessment within the IDF is that Hamas is
deterred, restrained, uninterested in a conflict with Israel, and is
doing what it can to avoid an escalation. As evidence, only a handful of
rockets have been fired at Israel in recent months by rogue elements
inside the enclave.
While the IDF is normally quick to pin the
blame on Hamas as the sovereign power in Gaza and responds by attacking
its targets, the organization is in actuality working against those
recalcitrant elements by carrying our raids against them after every
rocket fired.
"There is deterrence," Zamir told reporters.
"Hamas at the moment is doing all it can to avoid an escalation, but
continues to work toward building it fighting force and getting
stronger. With that, the situational assessment can change at a moment's
notice, for a thousand different reasons. The Southern Command is
working to maintain the calm, bolster deterrence and to give ourselves
the time needed to build our capabilities."
Alongside his warnings to Hamas, Zamir said the terrorist organization was hiding behind the civilian population.
"Southern Command's primary effort is to
improve its battle readiness for another campaign, in the understanding
that this sector is combustible," he said. "Our biggest challenge is
urban areas, the underground arena and the civilian population. We are
preparing and training the forces for this."
As part of the IDF's groundwork for a possible
conflict in Gaza, the Southern Command on Wednesday also exposed Hamas'
activity among the civilian population, revealing the location of two
Hamas tunnel sites buried underneath an apartment building and a family
home in the northern Gaza Strip.
"Hamas is operating in a civilian arena and
under the cover of a civilian population, under the understanding that
hitting the civilian population will hurt our legitimacy and serve
[Hamas]," Zamir said.
One of the buildings is located next to a gas station; the second is across the street from a cemetery.
"The main message is that we have
intelligence," Zamir said. "Underground infrastructure will be attacked
with various methods; we will decide how to attack. These sites are
legitimate military targets. Anyone inside of one, should another
conflict begin, endangers himself and endangers his family, and the
responsibility is on the Hamas organization."
Zamir warned: "We intend to turn Hamas'
underground infrastructures into a death trap. These goals are
legitimate from a military standpoint. If Hamas thinks it will receive
immunity in a civilian environment, it is mistaken."
Meanwhile, IDF and Border Police troops razed
the Deir Abu Mashal homes of Palestinian terrorists Osama Ata and Baraa
Ata, and sealed off the home of terrorist Adel Ankoush, who murdered
Border Police Staff Sgt. Hadas Malka on June 16.
As part of the operation, which took place in the early hours of Thursday, security forces also razed the home of terrorist Malek Hamed from the Ramallah-adjacent village of Silwad, who carried out the ramming attack in April that killed IDF soldier Elhai Taharlev.
As part of the operation, which took place in the early hours of Thursday, security forces also razed the home of terrorist Malek Hamed from the Ramallah-adjacent village of Silwad, who carried out the ramming attack in April that killed IDF soldier Elhai Taharlev.
Lilach Shoval and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=44525
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