The barrier was originally planned in response to high levels of illegal migrants, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan, who successfully entered Israel across the border, usually smuggled by Bedouin traffickers. Tens of thousands of people attempted to cross from Egypt's Sinai peninsula into Israel every year, predominantly economic migrants. During Hosni Mubarak's regime, Egyptian border guards sometimes shot African migrants trying to enter Israel illegally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the barrier is meant to "secure Israel's Jewish and democratic character." The 2011 Egyptian revolution, the demise of Mubarak's regime, increased lawlessness and rising insurgency in the Sinai, as well as the 2011 southern Israel cross-border attacks led to the project's upgrading with surveillance equipment and its timetable for completion being expedited.