Israel's Walls Work So Well They're Now Building an Armored Underwater Version
Due to the fact it’s surrounded on all sides by enemies who not only wish its people dead, but deny the nation’s very right to exist, Israel has made effective use of border walls in certain areas to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.
Israel has erected a wall between itself and the West Bank, which has significantly reduced the threat posed by Palestinian terrorists in that region.
Israel is also in the process of building a 37-mile solid barrier along its land border with Gaza to replace the security fencing, but isn’t stopping at simply building walls along the borders, according to The Times of Israel.
Construction began over the weekend in the Zikim area on what will become a fortified underwater wall that will extend into the Mediterranean Sea in order to guard against attacks launched by sea by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The wall is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The massive barrier, described by the Defense Ministry as an “impregnable breakwater,” has been specially designed to withstand the constant pounding of waves as well as direct attempts to breach it by terrorists.
The sea barrier will consist of an underwater portion that will be covered in a layer of armored stone and will also feature a barbed wire-equipped mound along the portion above water, as well as a typical wire security fence surrounding the entire barrier.
“Today we began setting up a sea barrier, the only one of its kind in the world, which will block the possibility of infiltration from Gaza to Israel via the sea,” Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said in a statement.
“This is an additional setback for Hamas, which has lost another strategic capability that it has invested massive amounts in developing,” he added, a reference to the countless Hamas-dug tunnels that have been discovered and collapsed by Israel. “We will continue to protect the citizens of Israel with might and sophistication.”
It was decided that a sea barrier would be built to separate Israel from Gaza following an incident during the 2014 conflict with Hamas which saw several Hamas commandos infiltrate Israel via the sea to launch attacks with automatic weapons, grenades and other explosives.
Though that attack was ultimately fended off, a review of the incident determined that the reaction to the assault by the Israeli Defense Force had been too slow. It was determined that additional measures to guard against similar attacks in the future were necessary.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Hamas seems to have understood it nearly pulled off a victory with that futile assault, as the group has reportedly trained more than 1,500 “frogmen” as part of its Naval commando unit in the four years since.
A senior Israeli Naval official warned in February that “Hamas sees potential in the sea like they saw potential in their tunnels.”
Indeed, a shipment of 30 sets of professional-grade scuba gear was found last April hidden within a larger shipment of sporting goods. The scuba gear is believed to have been destined for use by Hamas “frogmen” to launch covert attacks via the sea into Israel.
It’s worth noting that the Israeli Navy already began deploying a system known as the “Aqua Shield” in 2015, an array of dozens of sensors on the sea floor along the water borders shared by Israel with both Gaza and Lebanon that can detect suspicious underwater movement.
Liberals in America opposed to President Donald Trump’s plans to construct a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico often assert that barriers and walls do nothing to secure borders against people who are determined to breach them.
However, the obvious success thus far of Israel’s barriers and walls to significantly reduce terrorist attacks from fiercely determined enemies — and the country’s continued efforts to construct even more — would seem to suggest otherwise.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
