Border Police said Sunday they uncovered a tunnel running through a sewer line that was allegedly used by West Bank Palestinians to enter the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina by passing beneath the security barrier.
The tunnel was located after Jerusalem District detectives and intelligence officers received coordinates earlier in the day directing them to a manhole cover along a sidewalk in Beit Hanina, about 150 meters inside Israeli territory.
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A manhole in Beit Hanina opened by Border Police reveals a tunnel fitted with metal rungs and a ladder, allegedly used to bypass the security barrier
(Photo: Police)
Officers arrived at the scene and lifted the cover, finding a passage large enough for an adult to walk through. A folding ladder and metal rungs set into the concrete walls were discovered inside.
Two Border Police officers, wearing protective masks over concerns about possible toxic gases, descended roughly five to six meters into the shaft. They said an average-height person could move through the tunnel almost fully upright and that a thin layer of water covered the floor.
The officers walked several dozen meters through the passage while scanning the area and determined they had crossed beneath the separation barrier. They then returned to the entry point and sealed the manhole on the Israeli side.
Specialized engineering teams trained in tunnel detection were called in to examine the full length of the passage and determine exactly where it emerges on the West Bank side.
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Border Police officers located a tunnel crossing from the West Bank into Israeli territory in Jerusalem
(Phtoto: Police)
Supt. Eli Tubul, commander of the Jerusalem District Border Police's northern battalion, estimated that the smuggling route had been in use for only a few days.
“In recent weeks, we have blocked infiltration routes used to bring unauthorized Palestinian laborers into Israel,” Tubul said. “Those operating this industry, which generates millions of shekels for them, began looking for creative ways to continue running it and were not willing to give it up.”
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A Palestinian crosses the separation barrier in the Jerusalem area
(Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Tubul said authorities are now working to determine whether similar underground routes exist in the area and whether the tunnel contains additional branches leading to other points inside Israeli territory. The Border Police said the passage would be permanently sealed.
The Border Police said in a statement that they “view with severity any attempt to bypass the barrier and harm governance and the security of residents” and would continue operating with intelligence, operational and technological measures to strengthen the barrier, prevent unauthorized crossings and locate infrastructure used to harm public security.