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Looking into the increasing number of infiltrators from Gaza to Israel

September 29, 2015 at 3:42 pm

There has been a recent increase in the number of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip infiltrating the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories via the eastern borders. This growing phenomenon concerns many Palestinians due to the fact that the infiltrators’ objectives include looking for work, escaping the harsh reality in Gaza, or joining the Israeli intelligence agencies.

The Israeli army has repeatedly reported its arrest of Palestinians who infiltrated it from Gaza’s eastern borders. These numbers have reached 45 young Gazans since the beginning of this month.

The Israeli arrest of this number of Palestinians highlights the phenomenon of young Palestinians from Gaza illegally entering Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 in order to find job opportunities in light of the high unemployment rates given the eight-year blockade imposed on Gaza. This rate reached 44 per cent last April. I visited Gaza’s eastern border where there is a concentration of infiltration areas, specifically Kissufim, Al-Ain Al-Thaltha, and Wadi Al-Bashour.

It is worth noting that the issue of infiltration has not quite reached the level of a phenomenon because the security forces in Gaza monitor these cases and prevent the infiltration of some. The success of some infiltrators is due to the fact that the Palestinian security forces cannot impose its control over the areas targeted by the Israeli occupation army, which uses infiltrators to spy on Gaza and therefore tries to lure young Palestinians to serve its intelligence purposes.

Those who illegally escape Gaza range from between 17-24 years old and their main motive for doing so is the bad economic situation. The security forces in Gaza deal with each case individually by questioning them in order to determine their motives for infiltration. Measures are taken to prevent infiltration due to the security dangers it poses on the Gazans and the resistance. Such measures include awareness campaigns in border areas in order to combat the idea of infiltration and the reinforcement of security forces in areas used by infiltrators.

There are no accurate figures for the number of infiltrators from Gaza to Israel, but there has been talk of dozens every year. Their objectives for infiltration revolve around: escaping a court ruling issued against them in criminal cases, working for Israeli intelligence, their fear of falling into the hands of Palestinian resistance groups, and the deterioration of the living conditions in Gaza.

In the past few weeks, specifically since early August, there has been an increase in the infiltration attempts from Gaza to Israel, some of which were successful whilst others failed to pass the Palestinian borders. This is because the Israeli army bans Palestinians from entering the area adjacent to the border, which extends 300 metres, known as the “buffer zone”. The army opens fire or arrests anyone in the zone due to its security sensitivity. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior and National Security has threatened to take undisclosed punitive measures against those infiltrating the border fences to the Israeli kibbutzim around Gaza.

The number of infiltrators is increasing; the security services in Gaza recorded 230 cases in 2014. These numbers indicate the great danger that the Palestinian society is facing and a steady increase in the numbers in 2015, especially after the war in Gaza in the summer of 2014. A statement made by human rights organisations has reported that the Israeli army arrested 42 Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate the border since the beginning of 2015.

The increase in the number of infiltrators leaving the Gaza Strip poses many risks to Palestinian society, especially in terms of security, because the Israeli Shin Bet may take advantage of some infiltrators to harm Gaza’s security. This is despite the fact that a large number of infiltrators escape to Israeli in order to escape the poverty and unemployment suffered in Gaza.

There is no doubt that the Israeli Shin Bet ask infiltrators purely security questions revolving the resistance and ask them to disclose the coordinates of the forces on previously prepared maps, as well as the coordinates of their missile storages and their offensive and defensive tunnels. This makes such infiltrators candidates for recruitment in Israeli intelligence services. It is important to point out that the increase in the number of Palestinian infiltrators from Gaza to Israel coincides with the worsening of the Gazans’ suffering from the suffocating living conditions.

There is not enough financial liquidity to buy food in the markets and the sources of income are decreasing on a daily basis. Many of those who own homes that were destroyed in the war are living in tents and shelters which drives Palestinian infiltrators to look for “the desired paradise” in Israel, however, they are leaping into the unknown.

Translated from The Palestinian Information Centre, 28 September 2015.

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