Is An Egyptian Fence Next?

The New York Sun reports that Israel is considering the possibility of another fence:

A plan to build a security fence along Israel's 100-mile border with Egypt will get a new look after yesterday's suicide bomb attack in Eilat.

An Israeli diplomat here yesterday confirmed details disclosed in a Jerusalem Post story that reported a 2005 plan known as "Hour Glass" to build an electronic fence along the portion of Israel that abuts the Sinai Desert. The proposal, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, was rejected at the time because of the expense.

Although those who claim responsibility have claimed that the suicide bombers entry was from Jordan, that story apparently does not hold water, and may be the motivation for the expensive fence that till now was put on the back burner. Besides, Egypt has not been the most cooperative neighbor:

The most important detail on the attack came from the Israeli minister for public security, Avi Dichter. Mr. Dichter yesterday said the bomber left Gaza through the Rafah Gate and entered Egypt's Sinai dessert, which Israel ceded to Egypt in the 1978 Camp David Accords. Siksik then traveled through the Sinai's infamous smuggling routes to the border between Egypt and the resort town of Eilat. At the border he hitched a ride with an Israeli Jew..."There have been 100 such attempts in the last year," an Israeli security official said yesterday with regard to efforts of terrorists to infiltrate Israel through its border with the Sinai. This official also said the Rafah Crossing has been a source of smuggling and the export of terror.

Israel relies on the Egyptians to protect the crossing between Gaza and Egypt. In the past, however, the Egyptians have failed to stop the flow of Qassam rockets that have been used by Hamas and other groups in attacks on Israel. The attack yesterday on the resort town of Eilat was unusual; suicide bombers have concentrated their attacks on places such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

But bottom line, how effective a deterrent will a fence be?

A former senior Pentagon official in the Reagan administration and adviser to President Bush in his 2000 campaign, Richard Perle, yesterday said he was not sure if erecting another fence was the right move.

"When you look at the fence alongside the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, it makes a lot of sense," he said. "You can't wall off the whole Sinai, though."

It may make sense as a defensive move--as a deterrent, but in the end, what Israel really needs is a new leader and a real turnaround it the approach to Palestinian terrorists.

And that will require a lot more of Israelis than a $1 billion fence.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Security Fence, Egypt

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