Israel has begun construction on massive new barrier surrounding Gaza

"Over the weekend we began building the above-ground barrier along the Gaza border," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalists before the weekly cabinet meeting.

The barrier, set to stand six metres (20 feet) off the ground, "will prevent terrorists from Gaza from penetrating into our territory on the ground", he said in Hebrew.

Netanyahu gave no further details but a defence ministry statement said that work on the structure began Thursday.

It is set to follow the 65-kilometre (40-mile) course of an underground barrier also under construction meant to neutralise the threat of cross-border tunnels built by Gaza militants.

At its western end, the statement said, the above-ground barrier would join a fortified sea wall jutting into the Mediterranean, aimed at blocking Palestinian attacks by water.

"It's massive and especially strong," the ministry said in an accompanying video clip.

In the last Gaza war in 2014, Israeli forces killed four Hamas militants who had managed to cross into Israel by water.

Some Israeli commentators have said that Netanyahu would be unwilling to see a new uptick in hostilities with Gaza's Hamas rulers in the runup to general elections set for April 9.

But the premier, who is also defence minister, on Sunday pledged the upcoming polls would not affect security decisions.

"If the quiet is not maintained in Gaza, we will make the decisions even in the elections period and will not hesitate to act," he said.

Palestinians have for nearly a year gathered at least weekly along the Gaza border for often-violent protests.

They want to be able to return to the homes their families fled in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948, and are calling for an end to the Jewish state's blockade of Gaza.

At least 246 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since March 30, the majority during border protests but also by tank fire and airstrikes.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.

Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass incursions into its territory.

It accuses Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.

I thought walls didn’t work, that they were just a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. At least that’s what Democrats keep telling us.

But I don’t think Israel would agree with that assessment, as they just announced over the weekend that they are building a new galvanized steel barrier around Gaza to keep terrorists from penetrating Israel on the ground:

FOX NEWS – Israel started construction of an “above-ground barrier” that will completely surround the Gaza Strip in a bid to keep terrorists from infiltrating the Jewish state’s territory, officials said Sunday.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said in a statement the galvanized steel barrier will be 20 feet high when completed and complements a subterranean wall aimed at thwarting Hamas tunnels dug beneath the border.

“The barrier will prevent terrorists from Gaza from penetrating into our territory on the ground,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter. “If the quiet is not maintained in Gaza, we will not hesitate to act.”

The new barrier will be built along the route of the underground system, running for about 40 miles. The entire project is expected to cost about $833 million and be completed by the end of 2019, according to the Times of Israel.

Over the weekend, we began building the above-ground barrier along the Gaza border. The barrier will prevent terrorists from Gaza from penetrating into our territory on the ground. If the quiet is not maintained in Gaza, we will not hesitate to act. pic.twitter.com/vmQWT8g3ZW

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) February 3, 2019

The new barrier will be built along the route of the underground system, running for about 40 miles. The entire project is expected to cost about $833 million and be completed by the end of 2019, according to the Times of Israel.

It will also connect to the barrier system constructed out into the Mediterranean Sea aimed at halting infiltration from the sea.

The fence is similar to the one built along the border with Egypt, which cut the number of illegal African migrants passing into Israel from 14,669 in 2010 to 14 in 2016, the Jerusalem Post reported. After the height of the fence was raised from 16 feet to 26 feet there have been no reported infiltrations, the Post reported.

Notice how drastically the barrier stopped illegals from coming into Israel on the Egyptian border. Zero! It completely stopped it.

But hey, Democrats say walls don’t work because they’ll just find a bigger ladder or something.