IDF troops near the Gaza border fence
Photo: Roee Idan
Southern residents demand Ya'alon to speed up border fence construction
New border fence meant to replace old one destroyed when the IDF entered Gaza in the summer, but no progress has been made yet on the project.
Only three months have passed since the end of Operation Protective Edge, and southern residents already fear for their safety.
After 30 incidents of Palestinians infiltrating from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the heads of regional councils near the Gaza border sent a letter on Wednesday to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, demanding that he expedites the construction of a special border fence meant to stop infiltration and tunneling.
"We expect and demand you to make the lives of residents a top priority and provide security to the residents of the area," they wrote.
IDF troops near the Gaza border fence (Photo: Roee Idan)
The infiltrators were mostly Palestinians who were allegedly looking for work, though the IDF believes this is Hamas' way of checking Israel's security at the border. It's clear to both Hamas and Israel that in the future, terrorists can infiltrate this way and commit terror attacks.
Following the end of Operation Protective Edge, the government decided to construct new security fences along the border with the Strip to replace those destroyed during the operation when the army entered Gaza.
The plan is to build two parallel fences that will create a "prison" for infiltrators: the first will be an electronic fence that will call IDF troops to the scene. Some 50-300 meters away a regular fence will be built that will prevent infiltration from the ground. Meaning, as soon as an infiltrator manages to cross the electronic fence, he'll find himself in front of another, essentially imprisoning him between the two fences.
So far, however, there has been no progress made on the project.
The letter, titled "Advancing construction of fences to stop infiltration and tunneling," was signed by Eshkol Regional Council head Haim Yalin, Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council head Alon Shuster, Sdot Negev Regional Council head Tamir Idan and Hof Ashkelon Regional Council head Yair Farjun.
"There is an increase in infiltration attempts and they constitute a clear and immediate danger to the Gaza border communities," they wrote. "Each such incident is accompanied by security alerts, sounds of explosions and intense IDF activity, which raises residents' level of anxiety, which is high as it is at present over the lack of security solutions and the clear feeling the next round of fighting is only a matter of time.
"From our conversations with the Defense Ministry and the IDF, we've learned that completing the construction of the fences will take a long time, which unfortunately could exact a high price. In light of this, we demand you to act without delay to promote the construction of the new border fence, which is a central and meaningful tool in the protection of the communities."
Defense Minister Ya'alon said in response that "we're committed to the security of the area's residents and implement a wide variety of measures, both in infrastructure and in operational activity, in response to threats from the Gaza Strip. This happens in conjunction with constant dialogue with the heads of the communities and the residents. As evidence to that is the decision to keep the security coordinators with the IDF in the area, and the ongoing activity coordinated with the communities."
