JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans yesterday to erect a barrier along part of Israel’s border with Egypt and install advanced surveillance equipment to keep out illegal migrants and militants.
“I took the decision to close Israel’s southern border to infiltrators and terrorists. This is a strategic decision to secure Israel’s Jewish and democratic character,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Thousands of African and other migrants have come to Israel through its porous border with Egypt over the last few years, fleeing conflict back home or searching for a better life in the Jewish state.
Netanyahu said Israel would continue to accept refugees from conflict zones but “we cannot let tens of thousands of illegal workers infiltrate into Israel through the southern border and inundate our country with illegal aliens.”
The project will cost 1 billion shekels ($270 million) and take two years to complete. The barrier will not be erected along the whole border, which is 266 km (166 miles) long.
Advanced surveillance equipment will help border control officers to spot infiltrators.
Egyptian security sources in North Sinai said Israel had not informed the Egyptian authorities of its plan.
