JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel has begun construction on a 40-mile-long steel barrier that will surround the Gaza Strip in an effort to prevent terrorist infiltration.
The construction of the 20-foot-high barrier was announced Sunday by the Defense Ministry. The barrier is slated to be finished by the end of this year. It will connect to the new sea barrier being built by the Israeli army.
The barrier will have sensors to provide a warning if an infiltrator attempts to breach it. It sits atop a wall reaching several yards underground and is meant to prevent terror tunnels from being dug from Gaza into Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday called the barriers necessary to “prevent the infiltration of terrorists into our territory.”
