Residents of the Chareidi city of Modiin Illit have warned that the city is vulnerable to Arab infiltrators from the neighboring Palestinian village due to the removal of barriers from concrete drainage tunnels between the two areas.

At the beginning of the week, Shas MK Yosef Taieb submitted an urgent proposal to the Knesset on the subject: “The neighborhoods of Neot-Hapisga and Cheftzivah in Modiin Ilit are exposed to infiltrators from the Arab village of Bil’in due to the opening of barriers in the concrete tunnels,” the proposal states.

According to the proposal, there are wide concrete drainage tunnels between the two areas. Barriers were placed on the side of Modiin Illit and nets were placed on the Palestinian side to prevent the infiltration of Arab thieves or chalilah, terrorists, from Bil’in into the Jewish neighborhoods. However the barriers were recently removed and Palestinians can cross the tunnels, even by motorcycle. According to the proposal, the removal of the barriers has already led to a wave of thefts and residents are fearful of a worse security-related incident, chalilah.

Ironically, the tunnels are under the security fence and while the security fence is guarded, Arabs can easily pass through the area underground.

In a written reply, the IDF not only confirmed the details but said that the army itself removed the nets from the Palestinian side of the tunnels: “On rainy days, the directorate operates a procedure to open the nets to prevent the barrier from collapsing as a result of the large amounts of water that pass through the passages underneath. This procedure is called a storm procedure, in which we reduce to a minimum the time required to open the barrier at the water crossing.”

The tunnels were completely open from January 25 to February 4, when there was constant rain. The IDF also claimed that the police, not the army, is responsible for the security-related issues.

Taieb had submitted the proposal and planned on having an urgent discussion on the issue in the Knesset on Wednesday. But it was canceled at the last minute and Taieb removed the proposal from the agenda at the request of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office after a commitment was made to find an immediate solution to the problem.

MK Yosef Taieb met with the residents who contacted him and they claimed that this is exactly what they’re protesting: “It’s unfathomable that there are no barriers in the tunnels on rainy days,” they said. They added that thieves regularly enter Modiin Illit through the tunnels and therefore could be planning more sinister infiltrations, chalilah. The residents also rejected the IDF’s claim that the police are responsible for the issue as the army is the one removing the barriers.

In recent months, residents of Modiin Illit have been complaining about incessant digging noises.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)