Gantz approves another wall in occupied West Bank

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has approved a plan to build a 100 kilometre wall in the occupied West Bank, local media have reported. Gantz made the announcement during a tour of the occupied territory on Monday.

The new structure will be part of the West Bank security (“apartheid”) wall, and is being approved months after a series of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel. According to Gantz, a 50km section of the wall will replace an old fence. The other 50km was approved in April this year. Both sections will be equipped with surveillance cameras, sensors and other technology, the Times of Israel reported the minister as saying.

In July, the Israel Defence Forces began a major engineering operation to strengthen defences along the existing apartheid wall in the south of the occupied West Bank. A deep trench 20km long was dug to prevent the passage of people and vehicles.

In April, the Times of Israel reported that work had started on fixing holes along dozens of kilometres of the apartheid wall.

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