Israel plans to build Egypt barrier

28 October, 2010 11:36

egypt-barrier The Israeli security cabinet has decided to start construction of a huge wall along eastern border of Egypt in the near future to prevent the entry of “illegal immigrants.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Wednesday the 250-km barrier is planned to go under construction in November at a cost of some 365 million dollars.

“The problem of illegal infiltrators along the southwestern border is a threat”, Netanyahu said.

“I want to see tangible results regarding the start of work on the ground barrier within the coming weeks,” AFP quoted him as saying.

The Israeli officials claim the barrier will block a major transit route for economic migrants, asylum-seekers and drug smugglers from Egyptian border.

In the past, construction of a separation wall in the West Bank by Israel sparked criticism from Palestinians and international community.

Israel started building the barrier, made up of electronic fences and concrete slabs, in 2002. Palestinian say Israel’s creation of the wall is for grabbing land, because it cuts far into the West Bank in some places.

Israel passes another discriminatory law

The bill is due to be presented before the Knesset in the coming weeks.

In another discriminatory move, an Israeli parliamentary committee has approved a bill which allows Israeli communities not to admit Palestinians.

The Knesset’s so-called Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved the second and third readings of a bill which allows communities having less than 500 people to appoint admissions boards capable of rejecting residents if they do not meet the criteria of “suitability to the community’s fundamental outlook.”

The proposal provoked anger among Israeli-Arab lawmakers, who said the bill paves the way for Jews to reject Palestinians from their communities.

Many Arab lawmakers described the bill as discriminatory and racist and walked out of the Knesset debate in protest.

“This law allows the establishment of Jewish communities that want to prevent Arab residents from entering. All of the bill’s stipulations exist only in the Jewish sector,” said lawmaker Taleb El-Sana from the United Arab List — Ta’al.

“As a sign of protest, we are leaving. We will not be a part of a debate on this racist and fascist law. This is disgraceful — you have crossed the line,” he added.

The bill, which was proposed 10 years ago, is due to be presented before the Knesset in the coming weeks.