witola.com

Egypt has begun constructing a huge metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip as it attempts to cut smuggling tunnels. When it is finished the wall will be 6-7 miles long and will extend 54 feet below the surface.

In researching a little more on this subject I found out some interesting facts, pictures and background.

These tunnels are not like the ancient ones that were used to hide royal treasure from tomb robbers in the Valley of the Kings. These are for smuggling goods and weapons due to border closings, embargos -  and defense or offense (however you look at it).

Calves at one tunnel cost $600 each: $350 for the animal and $250 for the passage. Such smuggling is lucrative for smugglers and Hamas, which began collecting a $2,500 yearly license fee from tunnel owners.
They also say Hamas has begun to collect high taxes on cigarettes – a box of 500 cigarette packs that can be bought in Egypt for $700 sells for $2,000 in Gaza – in order to take control of that trade themselves.
Smugglers demand $300 per rifle, which can be sold for up to $2,000 in Gaza. For every bullet, they get $1, a quarter of the Gaza market price. People can also use the tunnels to escape vendettas or police attention for $6,000.

The Egyptians are being helped by American army engineers, who have designed the wall. Shrouded in secrecy, with no comment or confirmation from the Egyptian government, the wall should take 18 months to complete.

For weeks local farmers have noticed more activity at the border where trees were being cut down, but very few of them were aware that a barrier was being built. That is because the barrier, made of super-strength steel, has been hidden deep underground. It was manufactured in the good old USA and it fits together similarly like a jigsaw puzzle. It has been tested to ensure it is bomb proof, cannot be cut or melted - in short it is impenetrable.