Israeli plan for new border wall
Israeli PM says wall along Egypt border will protect country’s Jewish character.
Israel has approved plans to erect a wall along part of its southern border with Egypt, a project that will cost at least $270 million.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement on Sunday that the wall is a “strategic decision to ensure the Jewish and democratic character of the state of Israel.”
The wall reportedly is to stop illegal infiltrations. Israeli police say that 100 to 200 people infiltrate the country’s 210km southern border every week, a large majority of them being refugees from northern Africa.
However, Palestinians believe the new barrier is another example of Israeli land grab.
Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland reports from Jerusalem.