Israel to build new fence along Syria border
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E-mail Xinhua, January 6, 2013
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday a government plan to build a security barrier along Israel's northern border with Syria, citing new dangers posed by the latter's deepening unrest.
The decision comes after the Defense Ministry announced last week the completion of the main section of a 230 km-long border fence with Egypt, among the largest building projects in the state 's history to halt illegal migrants, the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, and defend against militant groups.
"We intend to erect an identical fence, with a few changes based on the actual territory, along the Golan Heights," Netanyahu told ministers at Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, referring to an area Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war that the international community largely considers illegally occupied territory.
"We know that on the other side of the border today, the Syrian army has moved away, and in its place, global Jihad forces have moved in," the prime minister said in remarks sent to Xinhua.
Despite an official state of war between the two countries, Syria has for decades made efforts to ensure that its border with Israel remained calm. The border, regularly monitored and patrolled by the Israeli military, presently consists of barbed wire and other relatively primitive measures to prevent infiltrations into Israeli territory or a Syrian military assault, such as mine fields and tank traps.
Citing Syria's growing instability, Netanyahu told ministers that Israel will defend the border against infiltration and militants just as it is "successfully doing" along its western border with the Egyptian-controlled Sinai.
"I also submit to you that the question of chemical weapons worries us and that we are coordinating our intelligence and readiness with the U.S. and others, so that we will be prepared for any scenario that could arise," Netanyahu said.
Recounting his tour with senior military officials to the southern security barrier last Wednesday, Netanyahu again lauded the project's success in "completely" stemming the tide of African migrants infiltrating into the country.
"In the past seven months, no infiltrators entered Israel's cities. Several dozen reached the fence each month and were taken to holding facilities, but no one reached any community or city inside Israel," he said.
The 430 million U.S. dollars barbed wire-top fence contains 45, 000 tons of steel and crosses some 250 valleys and river beds along its route from the Red Sea port city of Eilat to the Israeli farming village of Kerem Shalon, south of the Gaza Strip.
The final 12 km of the fence, whose route weaves along the mountains north of Eilat, are set for completion in May.
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