ISRAEL TO BUILD EGYPT BORDER FENCE

Israel to build Egypt border fence (JPost)
Israel will soon begin construction of a security fence along certain parts of the Israeli-Egyptian border, it was decided Wednesday in a meeting between the prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister and security officials.

The fence will be built in northern Nitzana and southern Eilat, regions considered to be particularly vulnerable to infiltration. Monitoring of other areas will be reinforced by additional ground forces and aerial observation measures.

The need for a fence along the open border with Egypt was highlighted recently by the breaching of the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move freely between the two territories, as well as - Israel believes - enabling many terrorists to sneak into Sinai.

The construction of the fence is expected to last several years and may force across-the-board budget cuts of an estimated NIS 1 billion.