The Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf have contacted Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to request an emergency meeting on the issue of mass infiltration from Jordan.
In a letter, the minister cites a Maariv investigative report, which highlights related data. In recent months, over 4,000 infiltrators crossed the unsecured border with Jordan and entered Israel.
Unlike previous waves of infiltration from Egypt, the new infiltrators come from a wide range of countries, including enemy states, which poses a serious security threat.
“This is not just a demographic problem,” wrote Wasserlauf, “but a real threat to the integrity of the State of Israel. The unsecured border serves as a conduit for smuggling weapons, drugs, and dangerous materials, allowing our enemies to penetrate our territory.”
Wasserlauf compared the current situation to an “eastern Philadelphi Corridor on steroids” and emphasized the need for immediate and comprehensive action.
The eastern Philadelphi Corridor, which Wasserlauf refers to, is a narrow strip along the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah. It’s known for smuggling tunnels used to move weapons, goods, and people into Gaza, bypassing Israeli blockades. This area has been a focal point for military operations by Israel and Egypt due to its role in fueling the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"Decisively to seal the border"
Wasserlauf’s call for comprehensive action would include the establishment of an emergency committee to assess the scale of the problem and develop concrete solutions.
“We cannot continue to ignore the growing danger,” he said. “We must act decisively to seal the border and protect the state’s security.”
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel has observed increased Iranian activity within Jordan along the Israel-Jordan border, and in the West Bank, according to Israeli media.
According to a senior Israeli official, “Iran’s next strategic goal is to incite an uprising in the West Bank and put pressure on Israel’s eastern border, and has been active in Jordan for some time.
“This activity has been known to us even before October 7, but in the last ten months, we have seen a significant escalation of this concerning trend.”
Many officials in Israel and the US believe that only a regional agreement, which includes the formation of a Sunni coalition against Iran and its proxies, can effectively counter Iran’s multi-front organization. However, it appears that negotiations for such a regional agreement have been put on hold until after the US presidential elections, and their future depends on the election results.