Israel has begun construction on a security fence along its border with Jordan, the Defense Ministry announced Wednesday, its latest such barrier intended to keep out illegal migrants and militants, AFP reports.
It will be the latest "security fence" built by Israel, including one separating it from the West Bank and another in the Golan Heights near Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when it was approved in June that the new fence was a continuation of a 240-kilometer (150-mile) barrier built along the Egyptian border which "blocked the entry of illegal migrants into Israel and the various terrorist movements."
"This barrier is intended to protect Israeli citizens against any security threat coming from Jordan," Arielle Heffez, a spokesman for the ministry, told AFP on Wednesday.
The barrier will be 30 kilometers (19 miles) long between the resort city of Eilat and the site of the Sands of Samar and will cost 300 million shekels ($75 million US), according to the statement.