|
RAFAH - EGYPT is building a new 4 metre high concrete and rock wall interspersed with watch towers along its border with Gaza Strip to prevent any new breach like the one in January when Palestinians broke through to escape an Israeli blockade, said an official.
The wall, which is set back 10 metres from the existing border barrier, has guard towers every 100 metres and is meant to prevent any future attempts by Hamas militants to breach the border, added the security official on the customary condition of anonymity.
'Work on the wall started as soon as Egyptian authorities closed the borders and they have completed about eight kilometers of the wall,' said Mr Ashraf Barhoum, a local farmer living nearby. Access to the Rafah border town, which has been restricted in the weeks following the breach.
An asphalt road runs along the new no man's land between the two border walls.
Palestinians in Gaza, who are currently under blockade by Israeli authorities, have repeatedly called for the Rafah border crossing to be reopened, with Hamas militants threatening to forcibly breach it if it is not.
Egypt has strongly warned against any attempts to forcibly open the border again. -- AP
|
