At a meeting yesterday with heads of the Yesha Council - a non-governmental organization representing the Jewish communities of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz promised more fences for the Jewish communities in Yesha. "We have to continue building fences in Yesha communities, but in accordance with government budgetary limitations," he said.
Mofaz told the Yesha leaders that establishing defensive fortifications in their communities will be his immediate priority, along with continuing the construction of a security fence running approximately along the Green Line separating Judea and Samaria from the rest of Israel. Security measures that are already being implemented and strengthened in Yesha, he said, include improved arming and training of civil response teams, and increasing the salaries of civilian security personnel.
Asked whether the Yesha Council has changed its opposition to the use of fences as a primary means of defending Jewish residents, spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef told Arutz-7 today that fences are seen as "part of the solution, but not as the ultimate solution" to the security issue.
In contrast, the mayor of Kedumim, Daniella Weiss, told Arutz-7 that fences provide no more than " illusions of security," and that they do not prevent the enemy from "fortifying itself in terrorist nests in the Arab-populated towns and cities of Judea and Samaria" or from "firing rockets and katyushas over the fences."
Regarding the partition being built along much of the Green Line, Mor-Yosef said that the Yesha Council has no policy regarding it - except that it should be moved eastward from the 1948 ceasefire lines to ensure that it does not become a political border. Mayor Weiss took a stronger stand, saying that the fence is essentially "immoral" because it's designed to protect the Jews living in the 1948 borders, while those living in the territories liberated in 1967 are left to fend for themselves. She believes that the right-wing must vehemently oppose the establishment of fences that create "ghettos" within the State of Israel, and explain that the solution is not to "add fortifications, but to defeat the enemy."
Prof. Ron Breiman, of Professors for a Strong Israel, told Ynet that not only would such a fence be unable to defend against terror, "it's becoming nothing more than a political and economic project that various interested parties promote after each terrorist attack… Among the prime proponents of the fence are building contractors, planners and promoters who exploit the fears of residents living near PLO-dominated areas in order to make a fast profit." Breiman added that left-wing politicians have also started "profiteering" from the fence, using it to garner electoral support.
Mofaz told the Yesha leaders that establishing defensive fortifications in their communities will be his immediate priority, along with continuing the construction of a security fence running approximately along the Green Line separating Judea and Samaria from the rest of Israel. Security measures that are already being implemented and strengthened in Yesha, he said, include improved arming and training of civil response teams, and increasing the salaries of civilian security personnel.
Asked whether the Yesha Council has changed its opposition to the use of fences as a primary means of defending Jewish residents, spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef told Arutz-7 today that fences are seen as "part of the solution, but not as the ultimate solution" to the security issue.
In contrast, the mayor of Kedumim, Daniella Weiss, told Arutz-7 that fences provide no more than " illusions of security," and that they do not prevent the enemy from "fortifying itself in terrorist nests in the Arab-populated towns and cities of Judea and Samaria" or from "firing rockets and katyushas over the fences."
Regarding the partition being built along much of the Green Line, Mor-Yosef said that the Yesha Council has no policy regarding it - except that it should be moved eastward from the 1948 ceasefire lines to ensure that it does not become a political border. Mayor Weiss took a stronger stand, saying that the fence is essentially "immoral" because it's designed to protect the Jews living in the 1948 borders, while those living in the territories liberated in 1967 are left to fend for themselves. She believes that the right-wing must vehemently oppose the establishment of fences that create "ghettos" within the State of Israel, and explain that the solution is not to "add fortifications, but to defeat the enemy."
Prof. Ron Breiman, of Professors for a Strong Israel, told Ynet that not only would such a fence be unable to defend against terror, "it's becoming nothing more than a political and economic project that various interested parties promote after each terrorist attack… Among the prime proponents of the fence are building contractors, planners and promoters who exploit the fears of residents living near PLO-dominated areas in order to make a fast profit." Breiman added that left-wing politicians have also started "profiteering" from the fence, using it to garner electoral support.