August 17, 2004.
Just one month after the U.N. and EU launched a furious campaign against
Israel’s security fence, culminating in the International Court of Justice ruling
that the fence is illegal, the EU announced it’s planning to build a separation
fence of its own, and invited Israel to participate in the construction.
The fence is being built to separate recently added EU members Poland and
Hungary from their new neighbors – Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The EU said
the fence is necessary to “prevent the free movement of migrants seeking to
enter” EU territory.
Israeli companies that specialize in the construction of fences and security
systems will participate in tenders to build hundreds of miles of fences along
the EU’s new eastern border.
“It’s incredible the EU has no problem building a fence just to keep illegal
immigrants out, but when the Jewish State builds a security fence as a last
resort for the purpose of keeping terrorists out and saving Israeli lives, we are
blasted by them and the U.N.,” a spokesman for Ariel Sharon told
WorldNetDaily. “Makes you think, doesn’t it?”
Israel’s publicly traded Magal Security Systems, which participated in the
construction of the West Bank security fence, is expected to sign a cooperation
agreement for building the new EU fence and its attendant
command-and-control systems.
The ultimate contract is estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars.
Each kilometer of Israel’s fence cost $1 million to build. Bases, sophisticated
transit points, and observation and command-and-control systems cost $2
million per kilometer.
In July, the U.N.’s high court ruled Israel’s security fence, which is credited
with keeping suicide bombers out, violates international law and must be
dismantled.
The court, which Israel maintains has no jurisdiction over Israeli matters, ruled
“ is not convinced that the specific course Israel has chosen for the wall was
necessary to attain its security objectives.”
A week later, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution
demanding that Israel comply with the world court decision and tear down the
security fence. Most European countries voted against Israel.
“European hypocrisy is as rank as it is blatant,” Daniel Pipes, director of the
Middle East Forum, told WorldNetDaily. “And the EU wall is not even for
security reasons, just economic ones.”
