Border Fence (Archive)
Border Fence (Archive)Flash 90

Five Palestinian Authority Arabs who entered Israel illegally were found to be among the workers building the fence on Israel’s border with Egypt. The five were discovered in a surprise inspection.

They had apparently fooled their employers with fake work permits.

The border fence aims to prevent terrorist attacks from the Sinai Peninsula, which has seen surge of terrorist activity following Egypt’s opening of its border with Gaza and the downfall of the Mubarak regime. It is also meant to reduce illegal entry, drug smuggling, and other criminal activity.

The fence is to be 240 kilometers long, and will extend from the Kerem Shalom crossing outside Gaza to the Taba checkpoint on the Egyptian border. More than 180 kilometers of fence have been completed, and officials predict that work will be completed by winter.

Work is currently being done in the Eilat region. A second major area of work is the space between Nitzana and Kerem Shalom, which has become a main route for smugglers, and was recently the site of a terrorist attack.