Egypt to build anti-terror fence in Sinai

The move is meant to isolate the coastal city from others in the Sinai region and to control entry and exit points, according to Egyptian media.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON
Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Egypt began constructing its own security barrier a few days ago around the north Sinai city of El-Arish in order to prevent terrorism.
The move is meant to isolate the coastal city from others in the Sinai region and to control entry and exit points, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Wednesday.
El-Arish is located approximately 30 miles from the Rafah crossing to Gaza.
This comes after Israel successfully built its own security barrier on its border with Egypt, which greatly helped stem infiltration.
Security sources said the fence would encircle the city, allowing access through 10 entrance points. The gates will be equipped with surveillance cameras and electronic devices to detect explosives.
Leaders of some of the tribes and other residents of the city, who did not want to be identified, criticized the plan for not seeking to develop the city and to consider the needs of its residents, and instead only dealing with security solutions, according to the report.
They also warned that the barrier would affect the economy of the city.
The wall will be built with stones and rise higher than 3 meters, topped by another two meters of barbed wire, said the sources, who estimated that it will be completed in not more than four months.
Meanwhile, a two-day military operation in Sinai resulted in the arrest of 21 suspected militants and the destruction of eight tunnels to Gaza, the IDF Spokesman said Wednesday.
At Cairo University on Wednesday, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood protested the mass death sentence recently handed down for hundreds of its members and clashed with security forces, resulting in one death and eight injured, Ahram Online reported.
Also, a bomb was thrown at a Cairo police station Wednesday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, the Aswat Masriya website reported.