Israel Building New Sea Wall to Complete Siege On Gaza

Israel started building an underwater barrier on the northern coast of the Gaza Strip putting yet another wall on the enclave to strengthen its siege under the pretext of safeguarding Israelis.

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The Israeli Defense Ministry announced Sunday the building of the barrier, which will block the Zikim beach and said they expect to finish it by this year.

Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli defense minister, tweeted that they have began “building a sea barrier one of kind” to protect Israeli citizens from Hamas.

“Today we began building a one-of-a kind in the world sea barrier that will block any possibility of infiltrating Israel by sea. This further thwarts Hamas, which is now losing another strategic asset after investing huge sums in its development. Will keep protecting Israel's citizens with power and sophistication,” tweeted Lieberman.

Israel first announced the construction of a sea barrier during the so-called “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014, when four members of Hamas's navy unit managed to exit the Gaza Strip and enter Israel by sea before being killed by Israeli occupation forces.

The barrier will consist of a first layer underwater, followed by a second one made of stone and a third out of barbed wire, all surrounded by a fence. Even though the defense ministry has stated the purpose of the wall is to prevent people from getting out, it could have strong effects on the lives of thousands of Gazans that live off of the sea, as an underwater barrier could affect the presence of marine life.

Besides the underwater barrier, Israel also began the construction of a great US$833 million concrete wall with sensors buried dozens of meters underground and six meters above it in order to stop underground tunnels used in Gaza for multiple purposes.