Israel will surround itself with fences to keep out "predatory beasts," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week.

He declared: "In the neighbourhood where we live we need to protect ourselves against predatory beasts."

Soon after Mr Netanyahu entered office he decided to bolster Israel's defences beyond the West Bank separation barrier, established six years earlier, with a barrier along the border with Egypt.

He has since boosted defences in the Golan where, across the border, the Syrian civil war rages.

His latest fence is along the Jordanian border, which he was visiting when he made his comments on Tuesday.

He said: "At the end, in the state of Israel, as I see it, there will be a fence that spans it all. I'll be told, 'this is what you want, to protect the villa?' The answer is yes. Will we surround all of the state of Israel with fences and barriers? The answer is yes."

Mr Netanyahu wants fences around all borders, and gaps in the West Bank barrier plugged. Analysts have said the plan - and Mr Netanyahu's tough talk - is likely to play out well in public opinion stakes, coming amid widespread complaints that the country's leadership appears powerless to end the terror wave.

But questions have also been raised about the effectiveness of fences.

Uzi Eliam, former director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Defence Mission to Europe, said: "I think it's not enough, although we have some good experience with fences here and there."

Mr Eliam, who is now a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, suggested that the plan may be less dramatic than it seems and that, to improve Israel's security, the Prime Minister needs to complement existing fences with diplomatic initiatives and other security steps.

One of the widely raised reservations about the effectiveness of fences is that they can be tunnelled under.

Just this week, military Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot addressed the threat of tunnels that run from Gaza to Israel.

Mr Netanyahu indicated that a plan was in place to prevent or detect tunnelling under new fences, but declined to go in to detail.