Work on Egypt border fence won't start till November

Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser slams defense establishment's delays in start of construction works on fence meant to block infiltration. At end of heated meeting, Defense Minister Ehud Barak given two weeks to draft memo on solution to infiltration problem

Roni Sofer|Published: 07.19.10 , 15:43

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday informed the government that construction of the Israel-Egypt border fence will only start in November. Meanwhile, plans to condition citizenship on a pledge of loyalty were also met with criticism in the meeting.

Monday was the second day of discussions on the new immigration policy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wishes to have approved. The ministers, led by Netanyahu, have demanded that Defense Minister Ehud Barak handle the matter urgently, in order to stop the influx of infiltrators into Israel.

According to an assessment by Interior Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, there are currently over 150,000 foreigners in Israel who infiltrated through Egypt, out of which only 26,000 are registered.

During the deliberation, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser criticized the defense establishment's conduct in the matter, angering the defense minister. "You are a civil servant, you must speak in the meeting only with the prime minister's authorization," Barak told Hauser. "The defense establishment is doing the most devoted work and the criticism you are expressing is misplaced."

Barak explained that "tenders have already been issued for the project, but it is a large project, and it takes time." The IDF representative at the meeting, Defense Ministry Director-General Udi Shani said physical work on the fence is likely to start in November.

The prime minister instructed the defense establishment to report to the cabinet on the fence's progress once every three months.

Talks on infiltration from Egypt are being held parallel to discussion on the citizenship and loyalty bill. Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor said conditioning citizenship on a declaration of loyalty would send a harsh message to the Arab public.

Minister Benny Begin said such a decision would have significant consequences and an in-depth discussion is therefore required before any legislation can be decided on. Meanwhile, Education Minister Gideon asked to hold a separate meeting on the status of labor immigrants' children.

At the end of the discussion, the cabinet settled with mainly administrative decisions. The defense minister was given two weeks to draft a memo on a solution to the infiltration problem, and a ministerial team will be set up to examine the possibility of finding an African country to take the infiltrators in. In addition, an inter-ministerial team will be set up to look into practical steps to prevent infiltration.