A video shot by Israeli hikers shows Palestinian Authority residents from the Hevron region freely entering Israel.
PA residents are allowed to enter Israeli-controlled regions only with authorization, and Israelis need authorization to enter PA-controlled areas. Israel has spent considerable resources on preventing unfettered PA access to Israeli territory due to terrorism fears.
One of the major steps has been the construction of the Judea and Samaria security barrier, a high-tech fence built at an estimated cost of $2 million per mile. The fence is to be roughly 700 kilometers (430 miles) long.
However, as the video shows, the fence alone failed to stop illegal entry in the Hevron region. PA men freely came and went, walking through a hole in the barrier to a waiting truck.
The Israeli hikers shooting the video debated the scene unfolding before them. “I pity them,” one declared. “They’re poor and they’re looking for work.”
“What if they have bombs in their bags?” another countered. A third agreed, “You’ve forgotten the buses in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, in Haifa.”
“I don’t believe it,” one woman said. “How long has the fence been open?”