Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan threatened to petition the High Court of Justice if the holes in the security fence were not immediately sealed.
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Dagan issued the demand in a letter sent over the weekend after a terrorist from the village of Ya'bad near Jenin crossed through a hole in the fence in northern Samaria to carry out a terrorist attack in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak. Five people were killed in that attack.
"Despite many warnings about the holes, the defense system you are tasked with has not taken any action to prevent the entry, either through temporary solutions to prevent the uninterrupted entry or the serious failure to permanently repair breaches in the fence.
"For years, Israel has neglected the separation fence under a 'humanitarian' excuse and dug its head in the sand in the face of a clear and real threat," Dagan said.
Palestinians have ripped holes in the security fence, which was never completed as planned to begin with.
According to security officials, around 50,000 Palestinians cross the security fence at dozens and even hundreds of different spots with holes from northern Samaria to the South Hebron Hills each day.
The vast majority of Palestinians entering Israel illegally do so to work in the country. Security officials have preferred to turn a blind eye to what has become a growing phenomenon in recent years with the understanding financial horizons bring quiet while distress leads to unrest and despair and from there terror.
However, residents in the seam zone have frequently complained that Palestinians have been taking advantage of the breaches in the fence to engage in criminal activity in Israel such as breaking into homes, stealing cars. Israel has seen a spike in such activity in recent years.
The seam zone, or seam line, is a term used to refer to areas east of the Green Line and west of the Jerusalem-adjacent security fence.
"We said the writing was on the wall. The next disaster is not a matter of days. It's a matter of hours," Alfei Menashe Regional Council head Shay Rosenzseig warned.
"The separation fence has been broken for years without any state supervision. This bizarre reality has to stop, and now." Hebron Hills Regional Council head Yochai Damari said.
Up until a week ago, Palestinians were able to enter Israel at all hours of the day in convoys of cars practically unhindered. All that has changed, however, since the recent wave of terrorist attacks. Security has been ramped up, and soldiers now patrol the fence.
"No one knows how long the soldiers will remain in the area," Nir Bartal, the head of the Oranit Regional Council, located on the southwestern slopes of the Samaria mountains, said. He said that if there were no additional attacks, "I think they will be with us until the end of Ramadan, maybe until [Israeli] Independence Day. If the event deteriorates into missiles from [the] Gaza [Strip], go figure.
"Either way, the Defense Ministry and the military must deal with the neglected Seam Line. For years, they put holes in the fence and destroyed it, and today, in quite a few places in Samaria, it's completely ineffective," he said.
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