Israel to begin work on Egypt barrier

Israel to begin work on building a huge barrier along its border with Egypt to curb entry of illegal immigrants.

JERUSALEM: Israel is to begin work on building a huge barrier along its southern border with Egypt on Monday in a bid to curb the entry of illegal immigrants, the defence ministry said.

"Tomorrow dozens of heavy engineering vehicles will be deployed at points along the Israel-Egypt border and will begin construction of the physical barrier," the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Israeli government approved the construction of the 250 kilometre border fence in March. It is expected to cost $365 million and will comprise fencing and other unspecified technological measures.

At the time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the influx of thousands of migrants across the border a major threat to "the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel."

The Israel-Egypt border has become a major transit route for economic migrants, asylum-seekers and drug smugglers, and Israel has urged Egypt to clamp down on the traffic.

Egyptian border guards often shoot at African migrants who pay smugglers for passage into the Jewish state to escape poverty and look for work, and many have been killed.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch last month urged Egypt to stop shooting migrants, saying its security forces have killed at least 85 migrants trying to cross into Israel since 2007.