Israel completes construction of imposing barrier separating it from Gaza

Israeli soldiers patrol the ceremony revealing the new barrier between the Jewish state and the Gaza Strip on December 7, 2021. AP - Tsafrir Abayov

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Israel announced on Tuesday (December 7th) that it had completed construction of the security fence separating it from the Gaza Strip.

While the enclave has been living under a double Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007 and the seizure of power by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the Palestinian territory of two million inhabitants is entirely under siege.

The Hebrew state took over three years to complete this security barrier, presented as a technological feat.

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,

Israel had until now its

, a missile device, to protect against rocket attacks carried out by Palestinian armed groups from Gaza.

But the Hebrew state now has an " 

 ".

A

barrier

, lined with hundreds of cameras, sensors, radars, or 140,000 tonnes of iron and steel.

It also has an underground part.

Objective, according to the Israeli army: to

, via tunnels, of Hamas soldiers in power in Gaza.

This new barrier cost more than a billion dollars.

It extends into the sea and is also connected to a remote controlled weapon system.

In the early 2000s, Israel also launched the construction of a separation wall with

.

700 km long, some portions are made of reinforced concrete and rise to eight meters high.

This barrier, still in the process of being completed, is nicknamed the “ 

 ” by the Palestinians and certain human rights organizations.

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• Gaza

• Israel

• Israelo-Palestinian conflict

• Palestinian territories