WASHINGTON, Feb 15 — Egypt is building a kind of mega-fence in the Sinai desert covered by high walls to keep displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Cairo officials revealed this to the Wall Street Journal, noting that Egypt will try to limit the number of refugees to 50-60 thousand people, below the region's capacity. However, Cairo officials deny that they built the structure. For weeks, Egypt has tried to tighten security along the border, deploying soldiers and tanks to drive out Palestinians. The new camp, surrounded by concrete walls, could house more than 100,000 people, Egyptian officials said, adding that scores of tents that had yet to be erected had also been delivered to the site. Cairo has been trying to stem the tide of refugees flooding Egypt's borders for weeks, threatening to pull out of a decades-old peace deal with Israel following its offensive against Hamas. The fact that Cairo is now proceeding with contingency plans indicates that Egyptian officials are watching the risk more closely. North Sinai's governor denied reports of building a refugee camp for Palestinians, saying the operation in the area was part of a project to stockpile homes destroyed during Egypt's military operation against Islamic State militants in the area.
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