Israel is a prisoner of its own ‘security wall’

It is not strange for a state driven by fear and governed by security measures such as Israel to be transformed, after many years, into an entity resembling a closed camp with high cement walls encircling it from three sides, while the sea constitutes its fourth. This has made it a dangerous haven for Israelis, contrary to the goal they had hoped to achieve since the occupation of 1948.

This situation has been created after a series of decisions and statements by the Israeli government announcing its intention to border the country with more and more high-security walls in all directions. Originally, there were walls on its borders with the Gaza Strip and Sinai in the South, which extended 240km, and on its borders with Syria in the North, with a wall extending 20km according to information obtained by Al-Khaleej Online from a report published by Haaretz.

While the government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, expect that such measures are enough to shelter Israelis from the chaotic security situation and the constant state of instability that has pervaded neighbouring countries, security reports and military analysis has indicated that Netanyahu’s security policies will not protect the occupation state from the danger of fighting spilling over or even from the wave of refugees. These refugees may come from Sinai, Syria, or even Jordan, which has been considered one of Israel’s most secure borders for many decades.

In this context, Haaretz military correspondent and defence analyst Amos Harel recently wrote an article arguing that the events occurring in recent months confirm that in addition to the security risks and dangers known to Israel, including Iran, its arms in the region and Palestinian operational actions, the turbulence in the Arab world is expected to gradually impact the security situation in Israel. He added that the options available for maintaining security are limited and require development.

Harel also stressed that Netanyahu’s ambition of surrounding the country with security walls is not limited to the borders that are known to be dangerous; it also includes the borders with Jordan, despite high-level security coordination between the Jordanian security forces and their Israeli counterparts.

In this regard, the writer believes that the potential for the fall of the Jordanian monarchy would be a nightmare for Israel, to the point that it cannot even talk about it publically. However, it seems that the state is preparing itself for such a scenario. It can no longer depend on strong security coordination between the two sides and it has now become necessary to take security precautions in preparation for the moment control is lost.

On the other hand, the importance of securing the borders with Jordan incorporates a number of points, the first and foremost of which is preventing the infiltration of those attempting to carry out bombings, either from large and active organisations in the area such as Daesh, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, or from armed Palestinian movements. this is especially true since Jordan shares borders with Syria and Iraq, large parts of which are under the control of Daesh, and because it shares the longest border with Israel of any country, extending 309 km.

In addition, Israel finds this potential “security wall” on the Jordanian border very important as it would fill the gap in Israel’s intelligence regarding armed organisations in Sinai and the surrounding area. According to Harel, there is a lack of information on the formation of Sinai organisations, the structure of their leadership and their true military strength. Furthermore, securing the border with soldiers from infantry battalions would subject the occupation once again to the risk of repeating the scenario of Gilad Shalit’s capture. This would put them in a situation that would force them to change their strategy of dealing with such armed organisations.

Moreover, the Israeli government wants to isolate itself from the wave of refugees that is currently sweeping the world. Despite left-wing statements claiming Israel is willing to receive Syrian refugees, especially the “Druze brethren”, as they describe them, the security strategy being employed does not allow for this because it would bring on more challenges and burdens. This is especially true because refugees are categorised as “enemies” and because the government is afraid of further skewing the already imbalanced demographics of the country towards the Arab population.

To achieve this, Netanyahu announced last week the beginning of the construction of a security wall that will extend 30km beginning from Eilat in the South and ending in Araba in the North. This move aims to protect Ramon International Airport, which is close to the eastern borders and considered a main target for bombings and armed attacks.

The project is expected to expand and the wall will extend along the border area after the necessary budget is approved. According to those monitoring the situation, these measures are being taken as a result of Israel’s fear of a change in the form of the war in the past decade. The war has gone from being between countries whose capabilities, forces, interests, and goals were known to a war between countries and organisations with unclear goals and on which Israel has a lack of intelligence information. This increases the chances of executing a spontaneous unexpected operation, thus requiring more precautions even on the currently safe borders.

Translated from Al-Khaleej Online, 14 September 2015

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.