Israel's defense minister wants a fence-off wall on Egypt-Israel border line

Sunday February 03, 2008 22:17

by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, urged a cabinet meeting Sunday that a fence-off wall should be constructed along the Egypt-Israel border lines, mainly at the Nitsana and Elat areas.

Israeli Defense Minsiter, Ehud Barak

Barak told the meeting that such a wall has become an imperative, given latest security warnings over potential infiltrations or attacks on Israelis and in light of General Security Service's (Shin Beit) assessment that the recent breaches in Gaza-Egypt border line will remain open.

"We must immediately begin the stage, which would include two sections near Nitzana and in the Eilat areas in order to deal with hostile terrorist activity and infiltrators ", the minister was quoted as saying.

Israeli media sources reported the southern command of the GSS ordered Israelis, who want to visit Sinai, to be accompanied by security convoy within pre-organized trips.

The sources added that the Israeli army had erected a buffer zone, ranging from 2 to 5 kilometers depth into Israeli territories on Egypt-border lines.

Recently, Egyptian media outlets reveled that the Egyptian security services rounded up dozens of Palestinians, who have been suspected to have smuggled weapons into Gaza or prepared to carry out attacks on Israelis in the Sinai peninsula.

Egyptian border security guards began Sunday morning sealing off the Gaza-Egypt border line in southern Gaza, preventing influx of Gazans into nearby Egypt.

On January, 23, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded into the nearby Egyptian town of Al-Arish to bring essential supplies amidst a strict Israeli closure of the coastal territory, since the ruling Islamist Hamas has taken over control over there in June of last year.