The emergence of terrorism in Sinai has forced the Defense Ministry to add new elements to the fence.
Construction of the Sinai border fence between Israel and Egypt has been completed, after four years of work. Construction of the first 230 kilometers took two and a half years, but construction of the last 15 kilometers near Eilat took one and a half years, because of the difficult terrain.
The topography of the fence's last section is characterized by deep wadis and hard rock. This section was also the busiest infiltration route into Israel. "Hundreds of people passed through here," said Ministry of Defense Fence Administration head Brig.-Gen. Eran Ofir. "One third of illegal migrants passed through the Eilat region, many of them through this section."
The Sinai border fence was originally meant to halt migrant workers from Africa. The fence has almost completely blocked this flow of migrants, but the emergence of terrorism in Sinai has forced the Ministry of Defense to add new elements to the fence.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 4, 2013
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