Israeli officials are working to extend the security barrier in the Mount Hebron area in southern Judea, Israel Hayom has learned.
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While northern Judea is more heavily fortified due to terrorism, southern Judea is considered safer and has not seen any such construction in years.
Senior government officials met last week to discuss the plans and gave preliminary approval for the building, although no budget was set.
Video: Israeli troops in Judea and Samaria / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
This is the second such plan by the current government, considered the most right-wing in Israeli history, to build a security barrier. A few months ago, Israel Hayom reported that an approval was granted for the IDF to build a security fence that would in essence cut off the Gush Etzion block from Jerusalem, the Beit Shemesh area and central Israel.
The plan to build another fence garnered heavy criticism from settlement officials, who fear such a barrier would carry heavy political implications and completely isolate Judea and Samaria.
"Instead of properly bolstering the borders of the settlements in the area and cracking down on the many construction violations here, the Israeli government chooses to build a fence that will be lamented for generations," Ari Odes, a candidate for the Mount Hebron Regional Council, said.
He also noted that the construction would cause "major damage to nature and hiking areas, as well as hurt Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.
"It is clear to all of us that within a few years, smugglers and infiltrators will find a way to bypass the barrier and create many breaches in it, as they have done in other areas. I call on the Israeli government to rethink and not promote the construction of the fence," Odes said.
As mentioned above, southern Judea is considered safer, and as such, it is unclear what prompted plans to construct a security barrier in the area, especially given that the building of such a fence would cost millions.
Israel Hayom reached out to the Defense Ministry and the IDF for comment, but they said the matter did not fall under their jurisdiction. The Prime Minister's Office was not immediately available for comment.
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