CAIRO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build a barrier on its boarder with Egypt to prevent refugees crossing into Israel illegally. Israeli police say up to 200 illegal immigrants cross into the Jewish state every week seeking asylum. Some human rights groups have disputed this number. Netanyahu announced in a statement on Sunday: “I decided to close Israel's southern border to infiltrators and terrorists after prolonged discussions with government ministries and professional elements.” The plan came as a surprise to the Egyptian government, who were not told about the barrier. Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told reporters that “it is an Israeli affair.†Israel has in the past put pressure on Egypt to stop illegal immigrants from crossing and Cairo has responded by bolstering its police presence on the border. A number of deaths have occurred along the border due to Egyptian security forces, with more than 17 migrants killed since May last year. An Amnesty International report titled “Egypt: Government must urgently rein in boarder guards,” states that 53 people were shot in 2008 and at least 28 of those were killed. The majority of asylum seekers are African, from Eritrea, the Sudan and Kenya. Human rights activist and head of the Somali Development Organization (SODO) Abdullah Osman said most of the refugees he sees are young men or women with children. In 2006, a woman without identification papers from Eritrea was killed by Egyptian border police. Refugees in Egypt are often harassed by security forces and many find themselves in legal limbo and are often denied basic rights such as education and employment. Twenty Sudanese refugees were killed after police cleared their protest camp in Cairo in December 2005. An Al-Ahram researcher explained the Egyptian government did not want refugees, because it puts strain on a system already under pressure from overcrowding. The problem of Egypt's size makes it difficult to regulate the borders, he said. “Egypt’s borders are so large it is very hard to control them,†he argued. The researcher hinted at a deeper problem: “Many Egyptians see dark skinned people as untrustworthy and the state thinks they [refugees] will radicalize the [Egyptian] people.†The Israeli Knesset in 2008 drafted a law that would allow asylum seekers to be held in prison and deportation, regardless of the treatment they may receive in their countries of origin. “Israel is worried about security breaches and if imitation increases, it might one day threaten its Jewish character,†said the Al-Ahram researcher. An Australian detachment of troops with the United Nations and multi-national peacekeeping operations is currently stationed in the Sinai to assist in border protection. The barrier, to be constructed over the next few years will stretch across 266 km (180 miles) to Gaza and will cost some $270 million, complete with security cameras. While the tide of refugees from Africa to Egypt is not set to decrease, many due to the barrier may be forced to make sea crossings to Cyprus, Greece and Italy in order to seek asylum. Israel has already erected one barrier (pictured) in the West Bank that has been met with much controversy and anger among international rights groups and Palestinians. BM
