A buffer zone will not prevent enemy fire. A fence does not present a barrier against direct ground fire from the territories behind it. There is ground fire on Neve Dekalim in Gaza from territories beyond the security fence, which cannot prevent it. A wall, which is immensely expensive, is not a barrier to fire from above and direct ground fire beyond it. In Gilo, walls have already been built and the shooting continues.

A buffer zone will not prevent incursions and given the short distance between the border-line and the population centers of Kfar Saba and the settlements of the Sharon -- in some places, less than one kilometer -- the danger of incursion is great. Even if the security systems were to warn of an incursion, by the time the chase was organized, the terrorist would already have gained entry to the Israeli town or city he had targeted for attack. And what if there is no warning from the security system? The Arab attacks in Gush Katif show that even the armed forces are not immune, let alone the civilian population. [Editor's note: The on-line intelligence newsletter Debka reported on March 14 that Hezbollah and the Palestinians have come up with a method of passing through Israeli electronic fences undetected -- and have used this to good effect in the north.]

All along the northern border, Israeli Arab villages have taken over buildings, which are ideal hiding places. Not for nothing have many terrorists chosen to cross over at these places. If a fence is built there and the terrorists manage to cross it, either in plain sight or through tunnels, with ladders or hang-gliders, will the Islamic leaders there inform on them or just the opposite -- would Israeli Arab youngsters watch and tell the terrorists when the Israeli patrols arrive?

To create a realistic buffer zone we would have to establish, in addition to the fence, a sector between 15-20 kilometers in width, similar to the distance between the Jordan and the mountainsides ("Land of Pursuit") which would give us enough time to initiate pursuit following a warning. There is no such area between the West Bank and the old Israeli border. Therefore the "pursuit sector" would have to extend east from the old Israeli border into the piedmont of Judea and Samaria. The buffer zone would also require a longer fence and security system on the eastern side of that same territory. As if Israel can allow itself such an absurdly expensive luxury! If you think that this writer is joking, the army and police were requested to supply solutions, and they speak seriously about two security fences. Moreover, we would also need to place armed forces along the fence, or the Arabs will steal the fencing!

There is an even more serious problem: what to do with the Arab towns and villages within the Land of Pursuit -- should we move them? Furthermore, a large part of the territories are Palestinian population centers and have become like islands. Under the terms of the agreements we have made with the PA, we cannot move freely in them. How would we be able to conduct chases there? There are areas where it is impossible to build fences, like Jerusalem. The terrorists are aware of this.What is the solution there? What would be the value of a fence in other places, if it can be penetrated within such a large area as Jerusalem? Is the whole thing not an insane waste of money?

Even in the Gaza Strip, where there is a buffer zone beside the fence, it has not fulfilled the hopes placed in it. Ask Deputy Police Minister Gideon Ezra how many terrorists managed to infiltrate the "safe passages." When we stop Arab workers from entering, there is a great hue and cry from the left and the Europeans. Witness, for example, what happens when we close off the Gaza Strip for a few days following a terror attack.

We would also need to place armed forces along the fence, or the Arabs will steal the fencing!

And we still have not spoken of the "locals" in the strip, who cut the fence and steal it. According to Nahum Barnea's and Guy Leshem's reports, even before the cement posts dried, the locals started stealing parts of the fence which divides the Sharon towns to the east. And in the absence of firing orders upon those who breach the fence, the fence is not worth the posts on which it is built. We can be sure there will be no firing orders along the length of the border-line (the same is true of the Jordanian border). Let us take, for example, the fence near the tunnel between Jerusalem and Gush Etzion and imagine carrying out firing orders against the thousands of Arab workers who illegally cross it daily. It does not take much imagination to predict what the left and the European Union will say when Israeli snipers shoot down Arab workers on their way to their daily jobs every sunrise.

Thus, the reason for separation has disappeared -- we are back to the starting point, and the need for Israel to resume security control over Palestinian Authority-controlled territories. There are problems with this "solution" but they are preferable to that failed scenario known as "The Separation Plan."

Meir Indor is a lieutenant-colonel in the Israeli reserves and heads the Terror Victims Association.

April 2002               - 9 -               Outpost