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Israel to construct an undersea barrier

Israel will build an undersea barrier stretching a half-mile off the Gaza Strip to keep potential attackers from swimming to its coast after Israel withdraws troops and settlers from Gaza this summer, military officials said Friday.

Israel believes the barrier is necessary because the military will lose surveillance systems in the planned pullout, military officials said on condition of anonymity because the project had not yet begun.

The barrier's first 150m will consist of cement pilings buried in the sandy bottom, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported Friday. A 1.8-meter-deep fence floating beneath the surface will run an additional 800m.

Military officials said construction of the underwater barrier would begin soon, but it would not be completed by the Gaza pullout's scheduled start in mid-August.

A Palestinian official denounced the project Friday, urging Israel to abandon its "mentality of barriers."

"The answer to all these woes of security and so on in is a meaningful peace process, is building the bridges with the Palestinians, is ending the occupation," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Gaza, home to 1.3 million Palestinians, is surrounded by an Israeli fence built to keep back attackers. Israel also is building a barrier to wall off the West Bank.

"I hope the Israeli mentality of barriers will end," Erekat said. "Now they have land barriers and tomorrow sea barriers and the day after sky barriers and what else? Will they put a barrier around each Palestinian individual, or house?"

In another development, Israel said Friday its dispute with the US over its military technology sales to China would be resolved soon. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, due in Israel this weekend, acknowledged a sharp disagreement with Israel over the issue.

"We are attentive to American concerns. The issue will be solved over the next few weeks and we will work out all the points of dispute," said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
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