Jerusalem, Jan. 7 -- Israel on Wednesday detonated three minefields in the Jordan Valley as part of its construction work to build a controversial separation barrier, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.
About 500 old anti-tank mines, laid in the area since the late 1960s, were destroyed in the controlled blasts, the ministry said in a statement.
Video footage released by the ministry showed a series of blasts that sent plumes of soil into the air. It said the new barrier is part of a plan to "strengthen national security and strategic control along the eastern border."Meanwhile, other reports note that the barrier is expected to seize large areas of Palestinian land in the northern occupied West Bank near the Jordanian border.
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