Udi Shani, director-general of the Defense Ministry, on Thursday ordered his staff to find ways to speed up construction of the barrier along the border with Egypt, in response to the day’s deadly attacks.
Forty-five kilometers of the security barrier has already been completed along the 240-kilometer-long southwestern border.
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Analysis: IDF prepared for a different attackIsrael kills PRC leadership in Gaza strikeThe original plan was to complete construction of the fence in 2013, but the Defense Ministry decided several months ago to hire six contractors in order to speed up the work and complete the project by the end of 2012.
“The fence might not have been able to prevent the attack, but it would have made it more difficult for the perpetrators to succeed,” a defense official said.
The Defense Ministry is also installing electronic sensors to assist in detecting border infiltrations.
The ministry said it would complete construction of an additional 100 kilometers of the fence by the end of 2011.
Officials said that 700 meters of the barrier was being built per day.
Also on Thursday, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau in the Prime Minister’s
Office issued a statement urging all Israelis vacationing in Sinai
Peninsula to immediately return to Israel.
