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PM, senior ministers announce project to erect security fence along Israeli-Egyptian border will be launched soon; construction will require $1 billion cuts in ministries’ budgets

Y-Net:

Israel will soon begin erecting a fence in the Nitzana crossing area on the northern part of the Israeli-Egyptian border, as well as in the Eilat area, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced Wednesday.

The decision was reached following a meeting between Olmert, Barak and Livni and senior IDF, Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry officials.

The defense Ministry has already been given the instruction to begin planning the project, which will take several years to be completed.

A major issue discussed in the meeting was the question of funding for the new project, which may require up to $1 billion cuts in the budgets of all government ministries.

The fence’s construction will be founded on the “Hourglass” plan, which has been drafted by former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. The plan entails the construction of a ground barrier in areas that are particularly sensitive to infiltrations from Egypt – namely the Nitzana and Eilat regions.

The plan also calls for the reinforcement of air and ground monitoring devices in those areas, and for boosting police and Border Guard forces that operate there.

Egypt to boost forces?

During Wednesday’s discussion, Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovitch proposed enabling Egypt to boost its own border forces by 750 police officers and troops. Abramovitch explained that if the forces restrict their deployment to the Rafah area, this would not require opening the Camp David accords’ terms for discussion.

However, the Foreign Ministry stressed that such a move would be conditioned on Egypt’s commitment to determined action on the border, as well as on international guarantees.

Security officials referred in the meeting to the alarming possibility that terrorists from Gaza would enter Israel through Sinai and the Negev. They also reported of the mass smuggling of high-quality weaponry into Gaza through the breached Egyptian border.