Palestinians pouring into Israel through hole in security barrier

Residents say crime is up as breach in security fence remains unfixed for two years.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Hundreds of illegal immigrants from the Palestinian Authority are streaming cross the border into Israel every day through a hole in the security barrier, Channel 11 reported Thursday.

Video evidence from the scene shows a roughly 10 meter (30 foot) section of security fence has been torn down completely, allowing free passage from Samaria into Israel. The documentation shows Palestinians passing through the broken fence only 200 meters (200 yards) from Kibbutz Bahan in the Hefer Valley, roughly 30 kilometers (18 miles) northeast of Tel Aviv.

Residents of Bahan claim there has been an increase in house burglaries and the theft of agricultural produce because of the gap in the fence that has been in the same place for the past two years.

Palestinian traffic through the fence has increased over the past few months with videos showing a stream of minivans arriving every morning on the Israeli side to pick up hundreds of Palestinians entering illegally to work in Israel.

The IDF responded to the Channel 11 report, saying the military views the actions as illegal “and is acting against it in accordance with the assessment of the situation on the ground and the order of the forces in the sector.”

The Israel Police also replied to the report, saying they conduct daily operations and are “exerting maximum efforts.”

However, the head of the Kibbutz Bahan security committee said despite the statements by security officials, nothing had changed, saying the because of the situation “we are living in no man’s land.”

“It’s a huge labor market, but unfortunately it’s not just a labor market, but also people looking to steal agricultural produce or break into houses,” said Alon Eden. “In the last two months we have seen a tremendous increase in the phenomenon, which has existed for the last two years, but is getting worse.”

In early August, it was reported that thousands of Palestinian Arabs infiltrated through Israel’s security fence this weekend to frolic on the beaches of Tel Aviv, Jaffa, and Netanya.