Terror fears from new direction: Israel-Jordan border sees uptick in infiltrators

Over the past year, the Israeli-Jordan border saw an uptick in illegals seeking work, mainly from Turkey.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel has always had border troubles. But one border that has been thankfully quiet for many years has been its longest, the one it shares with neighboring Jordan. That may be changing as it becomes an attractive option for illegal migrants crossing into Israel.

Over the past year, the Israeli-Jordan border saw an uptick in illegals seeking work, mainly from Turkey. According to the IDF, in 2020 it thwarted 64 attempts to cross the Jordan border into Israel v. only 20 in 2019. In the last month, four more attempts were foiled, the Walla news site reports.

The illegal migrants are helped by guides in Jordan who show them where to cross the border. Sometimes a vehicle is waiting for them on the other side to take them into the center of Israel where they link up with building contractors looking for labor, the report says.

The IDF fears that the crossing points could also be used by terrorists.

A civilian security official in the area said that about a year ago a border fence was swept away by floods, leaving tens of kilometers exposed. “We saw an IDF man manning an outpost that had been abandoned for a long time, but it is not enough,” the security official said.

IDF officials tell Walla that there is close cooperation between the IDF and Jordanian security forces, noting a few weeks ago that the Jordanians foiled a drug-smuggling attempt into Israeli territory.

The IDF is also deploying more fence. It has laid down 22 kilometers of wire fence and another 50 kilometers will be deployed in the coming months. There are no plans to build the sort of high fence found along the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

“Attempts by infiltrating job seekers on the Jordanian border are a recognized issue handled by the IDF and security forces. Over time, defense components have been added to the border to provide an optimal and rapid response to intrusion attempts, including additional observation,” the IDF Spokesman said.

To deal with migrant smuggling, Israel is also building a giant wall of salt for 20 miles along its border with Jordan, i24News reports. The salt will harden under the sun and become as sharp as knives.