Israel to build fence along Egypt border

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered to construct a fence at a cost of 1 billion shekels (163 million pounds) along two segments of Israel’s border with Egypt, in an attempt to stem the infiltration of migrant workers as well as of terrorist elements into Israel.

The bold project is estimated to be completed in two years, where the first segment will be near the southern city of Eilat and the second segment near Israel’s border with Gaza strip.

“I took the decision to close Israel’s southern border to infiltrators and terrorists. This is a strategic decision to secure Israel’s Jewish and democratic character,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Netanyahu said Israel would “remain open to refugees” from conflict zones but added, “we cannot let tens of thousands of illegal workers infiltrate into Israel through the southern border and inundate our country with illegal aliens.”

The barrier will not be erected along the whole border, but advanced surveillance equipment will be installed to help border control officers spot the infiltrators.

GUANTANAMO PRISONER-TRANSFER IRKS BRITAIN

Four Uighur prisoners in Bermuda

A diplomatic dispute has resulted after an allege furtive transfer was made by Washington of four Chinese Muslim Uighurs prisoners from the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay to the British overseas territory of Bermuda.

Britain claims that the US government should have conferred it with them first before the fact.

The Uighur prisoners were among those entrusted to US forces in Afghanistan for incarceration in Guantanamo. Authorities came to find out later, however, that they were not “enemy combatants.”

It was also learned earlier that the Chinese government had been urging the US to turn over the prisoners to them hours before they were shipped to Bermuda. The US should “stop handing over terrorist suspects to any third country”, foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

The US has been hesitant to hand over the Uighurs, recognized as terrorists in China, for fear that they will just end up being persecuted and killed.

Meanwhile, Britain is now assisting Bermuda in handling the security evaluation of the four prisoners. It was found out by the British foreign office that the men do not have travel documents that would allow them to enter to the UK.