Palestinian workers from Hebron are constructing the new barrier on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, despite the Security Cabinet’s decision not to allow workers from the West Bank to leave the Palestinian territories and work inside Israel, Ynet learned on Thursday.
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Israeli security services are employing hundreds of Palestinian workers from the West Bank to work on construction of the new barrier on the border. According to testimonies of IDF soldiers serving in the area, Palestinian workers are engaged in engineering work on breaches in the new fence, which was damaged at dozens of points along the border at the start of the war.
Some of the farmers who returned to their land in southern communities close to the border are in close proximity to these workers, but security services claim there is no other choice since creating a buffer zone between Israel and the Strip will take months, and most of it passes through thousands of dunams of Gazan soil.
Given the extensive damage inflicted since the beginning of the war that needs to be repaired, and the need to establish a new barrier, security services say there is a large demand for many workers, who work under constant watch. Some of this work are being done just kilometers away from Israeli communities, and many IDF soldiers pass by the Palestinians daily, crossing into and returning from Gaza.
The Shin Bet and the IDF repeatedly recommended allowing approximately 100,000 Palestinian workers to work in Israel in order to prevent a "violent escalation" in Gaza and reduce the despair seen in the Palestinian public in the West Bank, especially with Ramadan approaching in March.
Official discussions on the matter were postponed and delayed due to opposition by government ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir to allow the entry of Palestinian workers. As a form of compromise, it was decided that thousands of Palestinian workers would enter to work in settlements or critical points in Israel, with the project near the Gaza border likely being categorized as one of these.
Economy Minister Nir Barkat expressed his anger following reports of the Palestinian workers. "The Economic Cabinet has determined that no Palestinian workers will enter Israel and everyone must respect the decision on the matter. The people who brought us to October 7 have not learned a lesson. Likewise, the attempt to whitewash the employment of Palestinians by connecting them to the security fence is spitting in the public's face," he said.
Yisrael Beiteinu party head Avigdor Lieberman also addressed the topic, writing on the X platform that "the report saying hundreds of workers from the West Bank are currently employed by Israeli security services and are taking part in engineering work on breaches in the border fence that was destroyed on October 7 by Hamas terrorists is a shocking one that shows most clearly that our old, defeatist beliefs are still around."
The Defense Ministry claims that only four Palestinian workers were employed, and said in a statement: "The employment of workers in security projects is subject to security directives. Before their employment, contractor workers undergo a basic classification process, and close supervision is carried out on their employment.”