The United States could apply some of the security measures used for Israel's border with the Gaza Strip to its own frontier with Mexico, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Tuesday.
Erdan last month hosted his U.S. counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, one of the aides to President Donald Trump who has been tasked with making good on his vow to clamp down on illegal immigration.
To that end, Trump says the United States needs a wall along its 3,200-kilometer (2,000-mile) border with Mexico. But he has been stymied by domestic dissent and uncertainly about funding.
During her visit to Israel, Nielsen inspected the high-tech fences Israel has used to seal off the 245-kilometer (152-mile) Egyptian frontier as well as its 60-kilometer (37-mile) border with Gaza, a coastal enclave controlled by the terrorist group Hamas.
"She told me there is certainly a lot to learn here, and I reckon that some of this will certainly be implemented in what the United States is setting up on its border with Mexico," Erdan told Israel's Ynet news in an interview near Gaza's border.
Among Israeli technologies that he said Nielsen had looked at was an underground wall designed to block Hamas attack tunnels and early-warning systems for foiling incursions.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had no immediate comment.
After her border tour on June 12, Nielsen said in a speech in Jerusalem: "Border security is national security. Our Israeli partners know that better than anyone, and I was fortunate today to see the incredible work they're doing to keep their territory and citizens safe."
The Gaza-Israel border has seen weekly riots since March 30. Hamas has made every effort to bring the Gaza masses right up to the fence. Hamas is calling the protests "million-man" demonstrations, although in fact only a few tens of thousands are showing up.
