IDF considers new, high-tech Gaza border fence

Israel will likely build a new border fence along the Gaza Strip after repeated breaches of the current fence by violent Palestinian demonstrators, resulting in several deaths.

By: Lauren Calin, World Israel News

Israel will likely construct a new fence along the border with Gaza after violent Palestinian demonstrators succeeded in breaching the current fence multiple times in the past week. The fence will be similar to the one along the Egyptian border and will be based on plans that have been developed over the past year by the IDF’s Southern Command. The penetration of the Gaza fence coincides with a wave of terrorist attacks, primarily stabbings, in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.

Palestinian rioters have broken through the fence nearly every day for the past week, and there have been a number of fatalities. In a serious incident last Friday, hundreds, possibly thousands of protesters approached the fence and attempted to burn it down using firebombs and Molotov cocktails. They were dispersed by IDF fire, resulting in at least 9 deaths and dozens of injuries.

There were further breaches to the fence on Saturday night, when 40 Gazans made it several meters into Israel before being stopped, on Monday, and twice on Tuesday. IDF warning shots also injured several Palestinian demonstrators on Wednesday.

The four regional councils surrounding the Gaza Strip have responded to the breaches by petitioning the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to advance IDF Southern Command plans to revamp the fence around Gaza. The planned fence would be a double-fence, 65 km long, and topped with barbed wire and surveillance equipment. It would be similar to the new border fence along Egypt, which was reconstructed to prevent infiltration by Sinai terrorists and African migrants.

The IDF Southern Command has been working on the fence project, called “Southern Light,” for the past year, but no funds have yet been allocated for its construction.