The Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry have begun engineering work along the security fence in the West Bank to close the loopholes used by Palestinians to enter Israel illegally, the army says.
The army says it is repairing holes for tens of kilometers of the fence and digging trenches to prevent vehicles from crossing the so-called ‘seam zone’ area along the security fence in West Bank.
In addition, other efforts are being made to strengthen the defenses along the barrier, according to the IDF.
“’Our task is to seal off the sewing area in a way that will not allow illegal passage,’ IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said from the scene. “We will continue to operate anywhere, with any method and to the extent necessary to counter terror. Over the past few days, we have reinforced the area considerably with engineering forces and means to improve the infrastructure of the barrier.
The army sent three other heavy machinery companies and reserve troops from the IDF’s Combat Engineering Corp for the effort, he said.