Israel-Egypt fence ready within three years; Israeli reporter held for trying to sneak across border
Yotam Feldman - Haaretz
Israel is planning to complete a 240-kilomter barrier along its Egyptian border in three years.
The cabinet said that the $365 million wall was “a response to attempts to infiltrate Israel along its Egyptian border, which has security and demographic consequences.â€
The barrier is designed to prevent “hostile terrorist activity, drug smuggling, the smuggling of goods, illegal infiltrations and human trafficking,” the cabinet said.
The announcement comes as Egypt nears completion of a subterranean metal wall along the Egypt-Gaza border, Israeli Maan news agency said.
According to the report, the fence will be outfitted with “warning measures” to ward off potential migrants.
“Building a fence is a great and important national necessity, and we look forward toward the future of the state of Israel,” the Israeli government said.
Earlier, Egypt said that it had arrested Yotam Feldman, a reporter for a number of publications including Haaretz, as he tried to sneak across the Israel-Egypt border with African migrants trying to reach Israel.
Haaretz said that Feldman was preparing a report for Israel’s Channel 10 television at the time of his arrest and that the broadcaster said that he had been working on a news investigation on illegal immigration.
Feldman’s father, Avigdor, was quoted by Haaretz as saying that his son had traveled to Egypt on a press assignment and that he had had no contact with him since his departure.
An Egyptian security official, who could not confirm the journalist’s identity, said the Israeli had no identification papers and no money but told his investigators he was reporting on African migrants sneaking into Israel from Egypt.
A medical official in the Egyptian city of Rafah said the 30-year-old Israeli had injured his hand on a barbed wire fence as he tried to cross the border.
Feldman reportedly crossed into Egypt legally, via the Taba Crossing, then paid a facilitator to smuggle him into Israel, along with the African nationals, Israeli media said
The infiltrators were detected near the border and Feldman and a Ghana national were arrested while the others fled. Both were fortunate that they were no shot, which is not uncommon along the border.
