Israel approves barrier construction on border with Egypt

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is approving plans to erect a barrier along part of Israel's border with Egypt.

Israel, will also install advanced surveillance equipment to keep illegal migrants and militants out.

Israel's border with Egypt is 266 kilometers long.

A barrier between the two countries will not be erected along the entire border -- but consist of two sections: one opposite the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah in the southwest and another near the Red Sea.

Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister, said, "To prevent the movement of weapons, drug smuggling, and labor migration, and of course to prevent terror activity in that region, the state of Israel needs a fence."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, second from left, surrounded by security guards attends a business conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

With advanced surveillance equipment, the project will cost 270 million US dollars and take two years to complete.

Israel is a popular refuge for thousands of Africans, who entered through the Egyptian border over the last few years. At least 17 migrants have been killed by Egyptian police since May.

Israel is also building barriers in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and its borders with Lebanon and Syria in the north.