ISRAEL: Good neighbors make fences

While Egypt's steel barricade draws both ire and fire from Gaza, it isn't the only neighbor fencing in its property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to build a fence along the country's border with Egypt.

The border sprawls about 143 miles through sand-land and mountainous terrain, and with the exception of the official crossing at Taba, it is wide open. It is largely a peaceful area, but in recent years it has become increasingly exploited by a wide range of factors that are evolving into a real threat.

Trade still flourishes along these ancient routes, but the modern commodities are spicier. About 100,000 tons of drugs (mostly marijuana) make their way into Israel from Sinai every year; thousands of African migrants and asylum seekers too. Until recently, most women trafficked for prostitution entered Israel via Egypt, and lately Bedouins have taken to importing brides from Sinai, where their dowries are lower and their ways less Westernized. Tremendous amounts of explosives and no small number of weapons loop their way into Gaza and Israel, and the border is becoming a crossroads for terror headed in various directions.

The terror threats are immediately obvious. Other issues are breeding long-term demographic issues, such as the African migrants. Netanyahu recently pointed out that one can walk from Africa to Tel Aviv. "This can present a demographic, economic and security problem. The sooner we build a physical barrier along the border, the better off we'll be," he said. Human rights organizations say about 17,500 migrants from Africa have entered Israel from Egypt since 2005. Israel is already dealing (not terribly well) with an estimated 300,000 illegal foreign workers, most who entered legally but outstayed their permits. Failure to adopt a clear and timely policy to deal with the migrants, as well as refugees and asylum seekers, is proving costly. 

Shmuel Riffman, mayor of Ramat Hanegev, has been warning about the border situation for years. The illegal infiltration is "Israel's next social time-tomb," he said. "There are said to be half a million migrants waiting next door in Cairo, where the average monthly salary is $10, compared to $1,000 in Israel."  Israel's a democracy, he says, but can't be a suicidal one: "The border's got to be closed; this isn't Europe."

Two Israeli teenagers illustrated the point this week. On Monday evening, the pair of 19-year-olds bicycled across the border into Egypt, resolved to do "something daring" on the eve of their induction into the army. The brakes on this joy ride were applied swiftly when an Egyptian soldier detained them at gunpoint. Also watching were members of the Israeli Defense Forces. A monitoring unit picked up the arrest and reported it, sending authorities into high gear, as initially the two youths were feared kidnapped. They were released after a few hours of questioning -- and reportedly a bit of roughing-up too.

All this took place as the Israeli inner Cabinet was deliberating in issues surrounding seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, reiterating the strategic threat of abductions. Israel could have been negotiating with Hamas or Al Qaeda, said Zvi Fogel, formerly a senior commander in the region. "Building a fence is cheaper than negotiating over hostages."

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch says a simple fence will do. But Yom-Tov Samia, former chief of the southern command, said recently that any fence without tight cooperation between Israel and Egypt would be a waste of money. The only thing that might seal the border and stop smuggling, he said, would be a 300-foot moat filled with water and crocodiles.

-- Batsheva Sobelman  

Comments

[Rosa Martha Villarreal]

The anti-Israeli comments here represent a grievous lack of critical thinking.

The body parts snatching rumors smacks of the Medieval blood libel slanders.

The history of the Mideast and its conflicts reflect a confluence of 4,000 years of human interaction. To simplify the the situation is plain ignorant. To perpetuate ethnic slurs and cruel stereotypes is intolerable.

No ethnic group has a monopoly on "evil." To portray that as such, whether it's Jews or Mexicans, amounts rationalized hatred.

[lyn]

Interesting that this blogger objects to Israeli Bedouins marrying people from outside Israel. Of course, Israeli Jews, American Jews or European Jews can marry anyone in those places regardless of religion and bring their brides/grooms to live in Israel. Most Jewish ancestry does not come from that area, on the other hand the bedouins are indigenous as one gets to that area, they've lived in the region probably for 1000s of years, the boundary is far newer than their history there. And many of ones in Sinai were expelled from the territory that became Israel. So not only don't indigenous people in Israel have the same rights as Jews, but Sobelman objects to people whose forebears came from Israel from living there. This is typical Israeli racism, indigenous people are denied equal rights.

[L.R.]

Hmm, if Israel is such a terrible place why are Africans and Asians knocking down the walls trying to get in so much that walls must be built to keep them out? Why aren't they streaming into Egypt, Syria or Lebanon? Maybe Israel is a wonderful country which treats migrants well and pays them high wages and has excellent human rights unlike their Arab neighbors....ya think?

[lyn]

A lot of the bedouins in the Sinai are there because Israel forced them at gunpoint out of their land in the Negev in the 1950s, in order to create Jewish-only settlements there.

[Ken]

Good neighbors do make fences, but not on their neighbor's property. According to United Nations projections 87% of Israel's wall will lie inside the occupied West Bank, absorbing nearly 10% of West Bank land into Israel
(see: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/BarrierRouteProjections_July_2008.pdf)

Good neighbors don't steal your land, build settlements on it, drain your aquifers and deny you access to your own farmland. Good neighbors don't lay siege to your home and turn it into the world's biggest concentration camp, as Israel has done in Gaza. If after six decades of Israeli expansion and abuse of Palestinians you still believe that Israel is just trying to protect itself, just look at a current map of all the settlements that Israel has built on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law: http://imeu.net/news/article00147.shtml

[tommy457]

This article is full of nonsense, actually blaming Egypt for the stupid behavior of Israeli citizens.

I like to see this author talk instead about Israel's damning admission of snatching Palestinian bodies and harvesting their organs with up to 900 bodies missing and the US media's suppressing of it.

[jose]

Something Mexico needs to learn.

There will NEVER be an amnesty for illegals.