Egypt has deployed workers to create a controversial wall in Egyptian side of Gaza's border. Workers are using jackhammers to pound large steel beams side by side into the sandy soil of border area of Egypt and Gaza. Once ready, the steel wall would cut off blockaded Gaza's last lifeline. Egypt would be slicing through hundreds of smuggling tunnels under the nine-mile Gaza-Egypt border increasing concerns of the territory's Hamas rulers. The Islamic militants have so far shown little interest to compromise in power-sharing deals with their Western-backed rivals or in talks on a prisoner swap with Israel. The Hamas group doesn't want to leave their hold on Gaza as they are at least partly dependent on supplies and cash coming through the tunnels. On Monday, workers were seen operating huge machines just behind the Egyptian border line, drills were made, steel beams were placed into the positions and several workers were involved in welding works. Egyptian troops laced with machine guns guarded the crew. In the past, several times Gaza opened fire at the workers but no one had been injured. Hamas guards watched from a nearby position, while Hamas leaders are furious about the border wall and are not ready to accept the wall. On Sunday, demonstrators held a march outside Egyptian embassies in Jordan and Lebanon, holding posters showing Egypt's president with Israel's Star of David on his forehead. Hamas has also marshalled Muslim scholars who decreed that the barrier is "haram," or religiously forbidden. Gaza's borders have been virtually sealed since June 2006 when Hamas-allied militants seized an Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit. The blockade by Israel and Egypt intensified a year later when Hamas captured Gaza, capturing the territory from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The blockade has evoked intense international criticism, but Israel justifies it by saying that supplies to Gaza could end up in the hands of violent militants.
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