US To Help Egypt Build Border Fence

March 22, 2008 8:14 a.m. EST
Joseph Mayton - AHN Middle East Correspondent

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - The United States has announced that it is planning to help Egypt build a border fence along the Gaza-Egypt border. Washington transferred $23 million worth of special aid to the North African nation as part of its assistance in locating smuggling tunnels.

Over the past few months, smuggling between Gaza and Egypt has garnered more attention in light of the Israeli economic blockade on the small Mediterranean strip of land. Israel is calling on Egypt to improve its crackdown on Palestinian smuggling, which the Jewish state says allows weapons to enter Gaza that are then used against southern Israel.

The planned fence between Egypt and Gaza will employ technology directed at preventing the fence from being damaged. This is in response to Palestinian militants who blew a hole in the current wall between the two nations that allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flock into Egypt late January and early February.

The American Army Corps of Engineers plans to send teams to Egypt to help push forward the border fence plans.

No timetable has been given yet as to when the wall will be constructed

While building the wall, the Americans also hope to help Egyptian security forces locate and destroy smuggling tunnels into Gaza

Israel has welcomed the move, saying that American participation will help end the movement of weapons into Gaza.