BICOM

Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon told the Knesset yesterday that Israel intends to build a new security barrier near Hebron, in light of many of the recent attacks which have been perpetrated by residents of this area.

The current wave of violence has killed 21 Israelis since the start of October, in mainly knife and vehicle attacks with a large number of the Palestinian assailants from the Hebron region. Ya’alon was responding to a question by Likud MK Mickey Zohar, who noted that a number of the attackers had been able to enter pre-1967 Israel with ease due to gaps in the current security barrier near Hebron. Indeed, on Saturday a Palestinian from the Hebron area stabbed four people, including a 13-year-old girl in the nearby southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat. The attacker was eventually arrested by Israeli forces following a five-hour manhunt.

Ya’alon replied saying, “We are aware of the issue of the fence, and now with the budgetary approval for the massive fence we plan to build one similar to the border fence with Egypt – it will take some time but it will happen.” The border fence with Egypt has effectively ended the flow of tens of thousands of African migrants into Israel from Sinai during the past ten years. Ya’alon said that the new barrier would include a variety of surveillance equipment and would cost hundreds of millions of shekels.

A further attack yesterday underscored the need for fresh security measures in the region. An Israeli soldier was seriously injured in the South Hebron Hills after a Palestinian exited his car near the Al-Fawwar refugee camp and stabbed his victim. The attacker was shot by Israeli soldiers on the scene and died of his wounds. Palestinian sources later named the assailant as 19-year-old Mohammed Ismail Ashubaki of the Beit Gabriel village and student of the Al-Arroub Agriculture School.