A fence along Israel mostly unprotected border with Egypt carries an estimated price tag of NIS 2 billion ($8 billion), according to a proposal by the Ministry of Finance which was reported in Globes. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu discussed the fence in August after a meeting about foreign worker infiltration into Israel from Sinai. Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, according to sources, supports the fence as part of efforts against illegal foreign workers.
"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 the fence and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense are arguing over who should shoulder the cost.