Despite the ongoing construction of a new border security fence between Israel and Jordan, local residents are fearful that a Jordanian attack could face little in the way of defenses, N12 News reported on Tuesday.
Central Arava Regional Council Head Meir Tzur pointed out the vulnerability presented by the current wire-fence setup.
“There’s nothing behind it,” he explained to N12. “There’s no problem crossing this twisted fence either. Here, for example, it’s completely open. There are no indicative measures on the fence. Any citizen can cross, they don’t even have to jump because it’s torn down.”
The border was also seldom patrolled by IDF forces, Tzus stated. “You can just walk into Jordan.”
“We really want the Israeli army to be stationed on the border line, and not just with remote technology,” he added. “We are afraid of this technology. Every Israeli knows that what starts with a small breach may eventually lead to a failure. A fence alone or technology is not the absolute solution.”
From across the border, a steady stream of illegal entrants and smuggled goods has flowed into Israel over the years, local residents stated, including illegal weapons.
One military source told N12 that the IDF catches around 50% of the smuggled weapons and goods. “If they succeed in smuggling weapons, they can also succeed in smuggling a terrorist.”
IDF building high-tech security fence along Jordan border
In January, The Jerusalem Post learned that the IDF‘s new security fence with Jordan could be completed as early as the start of 2028.
An announcement said that the fence, which will include a variety of cutting-edge sensors and will cost tens of millions of shekels, would begin construction in “a number of months,” but did not set a formal end date.
Defense sources have also made clear that Israel has escalated proactive intelligence collection missions on the border and will not rely solely on the fence, though the fence is expected to be a major boon for securing the Jordanian border.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
