The Israeli prime minister's office says the Cabinet has approved a $160 million program designed to stanch the flow of illegal African migrants into Israel.

The plan calls for speeding up construction to complete within the coming year a border fence with Egypt. It is also meant to keep out Islamist militants.

The program also involves the construction and expansion of detention facilities to hold the illegal migrants. Fines will also be stiffened for employers who hire them.

The prime minister's office said in a statement that the plan, which was approved in principle last year, received funding on Sunday.

Israel says that since 2006, more than 40,000 migrants from Sudan, Eritrea, and other African nations have sneaked into the south of the country through the porous border with Egypt.