Increase in Gazan infiltrations not for reason you'd suspect - Report
Some of the infiltrators have been sent back to the Gaza Strip after being checked by the Shin Bet, in order to prevent severe overcrowding in Israeli prisons.
By TZVI JOFFREUpdated: FEBRUARY 13, 2019 12:29Palestinian demonstrators disturb the Gaza-Israel border fence during the 44th weekly protest called the "Great March Of Return"(photo credit: Courtesy)
After nearly a year of riots along the border with the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have not stopped trying to infiltrate into Israel. The reasons, however, are not what might be expected.More than 15 Palestinians have infiltrated into Israel since the beginning of the year with the goal of being imprisoned, the IDF Southern Command said, according to a report published by Ynet. Some of those who were arrested were armed with wire cutters and knives, even though they didn’t want to carry out terrorist attacks, the report said, they simply wanted to be imprisoned.Most of the infiltrators were between the ages of 14 to 17. Recently, Palestinian youths have begun using a new method in hopes of being imprisoned, arriving in groups to the border fence and waiting for the IDF to arrest them, according to the Ynet report.A small number of the infiltrators were members of Hamas. Some have been sent back to the Gaza Strip after being checked by the Shin Bet General Security Service, in order to prevent severe overcrowding in Israeli prisons.Infiltration by Palestinians wanting to be imprisoned is a testament to the socio-economic state in Gaza, the report said. The severity of the situation in Gaza has continued, even after the contribution of Qatari money. That money was distributed in Gaza in the framework of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, with the promise of fewer disturbances from Gaza.Protests have flared in the past week on the Gazan border, with multiple casualties reported from Palestinian sources.
