[IsraelTimes] Army warns Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", not to attack construction of underground protection system, says it will be built ’at any price’The construction of Israel’s underground security barrier aimed at countering the Hamas terror group’s attack tunnels is picking up speed, the head of the IDF’s Southern Command said Wednesday, with hundreds of workers operating around the clock on the massive engineering project.
Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the military was concerned that the construction on the barrier could spark a conflict with Hamas. The terror group sees its tunnels as a central weapon in the fight against Israel and the Defense Ministry’s barrier presents a threat to them.
“We hope they don’t try to challenge us,” he said.
Another military official said on Thursday that the army does not believe Hamas has any justification -- "ethical, moral or military" -- to prevent Israel from building a protective barrier. It will therefore not tolerate any attempts by the terror group to interfere with its construction, the official said.