An Instrumental Approach to the Day After in Gaza: Part 2 - Ravine Reaching The Water Line On Gaza Side Of Gaza Egypt Border

An Instrumental Approach to the Day After in Gaza: Part 2 – Ravine Reaching
The Water Line On Gaza Side Of Gaza Egypt Border
Dr. Aaron Lerner, 9 January 2023

Foreword: This is the second of a series of short articles presenting
elements of an instrumental approach to the day after in the Gaza Strip. I
refer to it as “instrumental” because it recognizes, based on actual
historical experience on the ground, that any combination of local Gazan
leadership and international actors will fail to act effectively to prevent
the growth of a terrorist presence in the Gaza Strip. This development is
often denied by international actors, who are compelled to claim success in
the programs they’re associated with. To be clear: the purpose of these
notes is not to engage in polemics regarding this reality but instead to
propose various features which can make “the day after” workable.

A ravine deep enough to reach the water line, situated on the Gaza side of
the Gaza-Egypt border, would effectively make it near impossible to tunnel
across the border. Even if an incredibly expensive and sophisticated
engineering solution were implemented to construct such a tunnel below the
water line, such activity could be easily detected by sensors and thwarted.

Egypt has already set a precedent by creating a one-kilometer deep ‘empty
zone’ along its entire border with the Gaza Strip as part of its
anti-smuggling efforts.

While a rough estimate suggests that the footprint of such a ravine,
accompanied by a mound of excavated earth running alongside it, would span a
400-meter-wide ribbon, the project would certainly be significantly narrower
than Egypt’s 1,000 meters.

Unlike buried barriers, the depth of the ravine can be easily adjusted if
the water table drops. Since the ravine reaches the water line, any change
would be immediately noticeable.

Having the mound run parallel to the ravine facilitates the use of conveyor
belt systems to move the excavated earth efficiently, significantly reducing
the time required to complete the ravine in key smuggling areas.

It has been proposed that the surfaces of the ravine and mound could be
utilized for generating electricity, but that is beyond the scope of this
note.

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