The fence is meant to keep out Syrian refugees and other migrants fleeing their countries. Announcing the project, Netanyahu said, “We see today what happens when countries lose control of their borders.” He was obviously referring to the huge immigration crisis seizing Europe this week.
The announcement came at a cabinet meeting held Sunday after Israel was asked to take in Syrian refugees. “To the extent that it is possible we will encompass Israel’s borders with a security fence and barriers that will allow us to control our borders, we will not allow Israel to be flooded with illegal migrants and terrorists.”
Called a “smart fence,” it already exists along the northern half of the Israeli-Jordanian border, from the northern edge of the Dead Sea up to the three-way meeting point of Israel, Jordan and Syria near the Sea of Galilee, according to the news site YNET.
The 235-kilometer border, from the Roman era fortress of Masada to the southernmost city of Eilat remains mostly unfenced. There are places where it is marked with a few stones, signposts or rusting strands of barbed wire. The added fence will have sophisticated sensors and be covered by IDF patrols.
But according to YNET, Netanyahu may have been a little too anxious to let the world know he planned on building a 235 km fence to seal Israel’s border with Jordan. According to YNET, there is only enough in the budget to complete 30 kilometers of the fence.
In June, the security cabinet approved the first section of the fence, to be built from Eliat to the place near Timma, where the new international airport is being built. Israel already has a fence along its border with Egypt to keep out African immigrants, and a border fence in the Golan Heights.
The Economic Times quoted Netanyahu, “Israel is not indifferent to the human tragedy of Syrian and African refugees… but Israel is a small country — very small — without demographic or geographic depth. That is why we must control our borders.”
