The diplomatic-security cabinet on Sunday decided to build a new portion of the security barrier along the Green Line, some 40-kilometers (25-miles) long, stretching from Megiddo in the north to the community of Bat Hefer in the Sharon region. The project is expected to cost an estimated NIS 360 million ($111.7 million).
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The cabinet meeting, which focused on the security situation in general amid the ongoing wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks, spanned some two hours yet only 15 minutes were devoted to ministers' responses. Israel Hayom has learned that even though building the barrier along that route could represent a future permanent border and could have far-reaching diplomatic ramifications, the decision was made without a diplomatic discussion and without the Foreign Ministry's input on the matter.
An official familiar with the content of the meeting told Israel Hayom there was no discussion regarding the diplomatic aspects of building the barrier. Meanwhile, representatives of the Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid didn't respond when asked whether the barrier's construction was coordinated with the United States, or with the Palestinians.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the barrier would be a massive cement wall, nine meters (29.5 feet) tall, and augmented with security and technological tools. "The wall will replace the fence that was built 20 years ago," the ministry's statement said.
The new wall, as stated, is slated to replace a portion of the security barrier which, when it was built two decades ago, embroiled Israel in a diplomatic storm. As a reminder, the Palestinian Authority launched a scathing international public relations campaign at the time, claiming that "Israel is imprisoning [Palestinians] in ghettos."
Then-prime minister Ariel Sharon was tried in absentia by a Belgian court for building the barrier, marking the first time a senior Israeli official faced international legal action. Then-US president George W. Bush, who was considered friendly to Israel, publicly admonished Israel over its "wall," only tempering his condemnation following immense Israeli diplomatic efforts.
In the wake of that Palestinian public relations campaign, Israel was forced into a corner and launched a counter-campaign in which it tried convincing the international community that the barrier was not a ghetto, but rather a fence for security purposes alone. Therefore, it isn't clear why the cabinet on Sunday didn't examine the diplomatic aspects of its decision.
A spokesperson for the foreign minister told Israel Hayom in response that he would not discuss the content of cabinet meetings.
MK Orit Struck of the Religious Zionism Party lambasted Bennett over the cabinet's decision.
"This isn't a security barrier, it's a border wall. Naftali Bennett will be remembered in infamy as the person who, in the midst of a terror wave, without a majority in the Knesset, and with zero public legitimacy while leaning on supporters of terror, exploited the prime minister's seat to implement the plans of the Left and establish a border wall in the heart of Israel.
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"All of this instead of a [military operation], instead of collecting weapons from both sides of the Green Line, instead of stopping to pay the salaries of terrorists from Israel's coffers. You have no mandate, Naftali, to partition the land. This imbecilic decision will be reversed the moment this dangerous government you established finally falls, and that moment is very close," she said.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said: "In recent years, and certainly since I was appointed public security minister, I've worked very hard for a security wall to be built along the stream line, because the holes in it have made daily reality intolerable for the adjacent communities. The cabinet's decision today [Sunday] is important, and the first step to sealing all the breaches along the seam line."
Far fewer border crossings
In the meantime, as a result of massive reinforcements and close collaboration between the IDF, Israel Police, and Border Police along the security barrier in the seam zone, or seam line – a term used to refer to areas east of the Green Line and west of the Jerusalem-adjacent security fence – the number of undocumented Palestinians entering Israel has decreased considerably over the past two weeks from tens of thousands per day to just around 200.
Additionally, last week saw a dramatic increase in the number of indictments against Israelis who transport, employ, and otherwise aid undocumented Palestinians.
