High-tech crossings aim to ease way of life

Israel plans to spend NIS 1.5 billion to build 34 high-tech crossings in the separation fence, with the goal of easing life for the Palestinian population and thereby reducing support for terrorist organizations.

"If we manage to separate the Palestinian population from the terrorists, we will have taken an important step forward in the war on terror," Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said in an interview with Haaretz. "This will serve us no less than the Palestinians."

The Defense Ministry has been working for more than a year on proposals to make it easier for Palestinians with permits allowing them to enter Israel to do so. Currently, about 50,000 Palestinians the bulk of them who work or do business in Israel, have such permits. But the ministry's data shows that it currently takes about four hours for a Palestinian to pass through an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint at rush hour - meaning that someone who starts work in Israel at 8 A.M. would have to get to the checkpoint by 2 A.M. to be on the safe side.

The new terminals, a few of which have already been completed, are intended to enable people to cross through in only an hour, including waiting time and all relevant security checks. All 34 checkpoints are slated to be completed by the end of 2006, but that will be possible only if the fence is completed on schedule. There also will be separate cargo terminals to facilitate commerce.

The new terminals will work as follows: Upon entering, the Palestinian's permit will be checked, and he will then purchase a magnetic card for a nominal fee. Initially, each card will be good for only one day; later, they will be valid for longer periods. The cards will be imprinted with digitalized data concerning the worker's fingerprints and other biological identifiers.

He will then place any baggage on a conveyor belt, where it will be checked to ensure that it contains no weapons or contraband. Next, the worker himself will be checked for weapons and contraband. However, all checks - of both people and baggage - will be noninvasive, carried out by sophisticated machines used at various international borders, particularly the United States-Mexico border. Only if a Palestinian arouses the guards' suspicions will he be taken aside for more intensive checks.

The terminals will not be manned by the army; all staffers will be civilian guards trained by the state's security services, including some whose main job will be to deal with security crises that develop at the terminal. This will not only free up soldiers for other tasks, but also reduce friction between the army and the Palestinian population.

By streamlining the passage of goods and people from the Palestinian Authority into Israel, the government hopes to make daily life easier on the Palestinians as well as to improve the Palestinian economy.

"The principal axis through which Israel can influence the Palestinian street and the status of the Palestinian leadership is the economic axis," Mofaz said. "Only through visible benefits that reach every Palestinian will it be possible to show that there is genuine progress, that there is a reward for choosing the pragmatic path of dialogue and negotiations and abandoning the path of terror."

And if the economy does revive, defense officials added, that would give ordinary Palestinians an incentive to oppose terrorist attacks, since they would disrupt their economic progress.

One of the main unanswered questions about the fence project, however, is who will pick up the tab. To date, NIS 5.8 billion has been budgeted for the fence, including NIS 1.1 billion for what is termed "the fabric of life" - meaning, mainly, the crossings. However, most estimates predict that the fence's total cost will exceed NIS 8 billion, including an additional NIS 400 million through the middle of 2006 for "fabric of life" projects.

The Defense Ministry and IDF hope that eventually, the international community will agree to cover some of these costs, on the grounds that the new crossings will primarily benefit the Palestinian economy and the Palestinian population. However, Mofaz declined to speculate on this issue, saying only: "I have held frequent meetings with the Quartet's envoy, James Wolfensohn, at which the issue of the international community's aid to the Palestinians has been discussed."