Posted on 04/12/22
| News Source: i24
'We will continue to fight terrorism and take care of the economy,' Defense Minister Benny Gantz says
Israel's Defense Ministry is trying to set up a project that will allow "tens of thousands" of additional Palestinian workers to enter Israel legally.
“Along with intelligence, offensive and defensive operations, we are considering solutions that will allow tens of thousands of additional workers to enter Israel in an orderly fashion,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during a review of the security fence that separates the Jewish state from the West Bank.
Relevant agencies have been instructed to prepare a plan to also "upgrade border crossings," Gantz said, to "improve security and the Israeli and Palestinian economies."
"We will continue to fight terrorism and take care of the economy," the government official stressed.
Two battalions — one infantry and one from the IDF Combat Engineer Corps — as well as two heavy equipment companies are being deployed to reinforce troops in the so-called "junction" area.
On Tuesday, the IDF began repair work on the gutted fence in various locations, including in the northern West Bank, without waiting for the promised budget of hundreds of millions of shekels.
Some $93 million has been allocated by the security cabinet for the construction of 25 miles of barriers along the so-called separation line.
The upgrades come as Palestinian terrorists, including the perpetrators of the attacks in Tel Aviv last Thursday and in Bnei Brak at the end of March, infiltrated Israel through breaches in the security fence.