Sources inform ''Globes'' that the cost of a border fence along the Israel-Egypt border is NIS 2 billion. The Ministry of Finance carried out staff work on the project two years ago, including its cost, which turns out to be high.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the subject of an Israel-Egypt border fence in early August during a meeting about the infiltration to Israel from Sinai of illegal foreign workers. Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz and Minister of Interior Eli Yishai were present at the meeting.
Most illegal workers in Israel reportedly enter the country from Egypt, because the border is effectively unprotected. Before dawn this morning, there was shooting incident between Israeli security forces and an Egyptian policeman about 20 kilometers north of Eilat. The Egyptian policeman suffered moderate to serious wounds. Two weeks ago, Egyptian forces killed an African man who was trying to enter Israeli territory. 14 people were arrested in that incident.
The sources added that Steinitz, who is leading the battle against illegal foreign workers - a cornerstone of his economic policy - supports building an Israel-Egypt border fence. "Steinitz's support of the fence is nothing new. He supported it when he was chairman of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee. It's no secret that he considers Egypt unreliable, and he has said so repeatedly," a senior official in Steinitz's office said.
The government has not yet examined the feasibility of building a border fence, and a dispute has already broken out over who will finance it. The Ministry of Finance has made it clear that the borders are teh responsibility of the IDF and security forces. The ministry adds that the Brodet Committee states that the Ministry of Defense should finance the fence.
A senior defense official demurs. "There is no mention of anything of the kind in the Brodet report. The defense establishment has not asked for the fence. It is an expense solely for civilian needs, not military needs. The government approved the defense budget, which does not mention building a border fence. If you examine the parties who propose the fence, the defense minister i snot among them. It's not our responsibility."
The Ministry of Interior won't finance the fence either. Its annual budget of NIS 357 million cannot finance the fence's construction. The Prime Minister's Office will promise nothing either, saying, "No decision has been taken on building a fence along the border with Egypt. At the prime minister's meeting with the finance and interior ministers, various ideas were raised to halt the infiltration of illegal workers to Israel through the borders, and they will be discussed by the relevant ministries and professional bodies before any decision is made."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 17, 2009
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