'IDF not ready for surge of infiltrators from Egypt'

Despite concerns that riots in Egypt will raise number of illegal immigrants crossing border into Israel, IDF appears unprepared to handle surge. 'We haven't started to deal with it,' one officer says

Ahuva Mamus|Published: 01.30.11 , 20:39

In light of the growing concern that illegal refugees will rush to infiltrate Israel's borders in as result of the unrest in Egypt, it appears that the Israel Defense Forces are not prepared to handle such an occurrence.

"We haven't started to deal with it," said the deputy commander of an IDF division in the Eilat district while briefing the Knesset's Interior Affairs and Environment Committee on Sunday.

The officer noted that the border fence should deter migrant workers, and will significantly reduce the number of infiltrators gaining entry in Israel.

"We hang on to the hope that the separation fence will, in fact, solve the infiltration problem," MK Faina Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beiteinu), a member of the Interior Affairs Committee, said in response. "If in six months there will be a fence, and there will still be infiltrators, whom will we blame then, and what will we do?"

The committee members joined IDF officials on a tour of the fence in order to observe firsthand the weak points where infiltrators cross the border.

"While we thought that we would learn something, we come out of here even more worried," said MK David Azoulay (Shas), chairman of the committee, at the end of the briefing.

Azoulay asked the government to order the IDF to take action against the infiltrators during a discussion that was held on the matter earlier Sunday. Officials at the discussion called for the establishment of a special Border Guard unit to deal with the weak spots along the fence.