Israel raised its electronic border fence at the Israel-Egyptian border by 10 feet to continue to deter illegal immigration. Photo: Israeli Ministry of Defense Fence Administration.

JNS.org — The Israeli government announced this week that it has finished upgrades to the electronic security fence between the Jewish state and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The height of the 150-mile fence — which runs from Gaza to Eilat —  was raised 10 feet in an effort to further curb illegal migration, drug and weapons smuggling, as well as terrorist infiltration.

Since the fence was first erected in 2014, the number of illegal migrants from Africa to Israel was significantly slashed, from hundreds every month to a total of only 213 in all of 2015.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the increased height of the fence — from 15 to 25 feet — coupled with additional detection devices, “significantly curbed the flow of illegal infiltration into Israel, with only 11 successful attempts to cross the fence throughout 2016.”

The Sinai has been wrought with violence in recent years as the Egyptian government, with Israeli support, has battled an Islamic State-affiliated terror group in the region.