Individual security guards, most of them untrained as fighters, in front of hundreds of Palestinian workers. The location: the industrial area at the entrance to Mishor Adumim, which suffered an attack just a few months ago. This is what one of the main industrial areas in Judea and Samaria looks like every day.
Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, a serious security incident occurred at this point of friction.
Hundreds of Palestinians flocked into the compound without any checks.
The soldiers of the standby squad, who arrived on the field on their own accord and without any order, stood aside and rubbed their eyes in astonishment.
The guard post in Mishor Adumim, after the attack at the end of December,
The Ma'ale Adumim municipality issued a clarification and claimed that it was a one-off glitch: "This is a misleading video, in which Palestinians were seen breaking through a barrier and entering the industrial zone without inspection. As a result, shock and panic reigned throughout the city."
According to them, the load on the checkpoint "came as a result of an electrical fault at the check-in terminal. Everyone who enters Meshar Adumim and Ma'al Adumim goes through a comprehensive check, and everything is in order."
On the municipal Facebook page, they asked for reassurance and clarified that "only 50 workers, all with an entry permit, walked to their workplace and were stopped by the security department 100 meters from the entrance barrier."
Attack in Maale Adumim (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
However, eyewitnesses are convinced that the municipality played down the omission, in an attempt to curb criticism of it.
"Everyone is trying to protect themselves because they don't want panic.
In practice, hundreds of undocumented Palestinians entered Mishar Adumim, and the members of the standby squad were almost trampled," said one of those present at the event.
An attack every few months
The allegations raise glaring question marks regarding the municipality's conduct regarding the entry of workers into the city, against the background of the security history in the area in recent months.
In August, a cleaning worker at the municipal community center, Mahand Almazareh, opened fire on passers-by near a mall in the city. Six Israelis were injured before he was neutralized. During the interrogation, he said that he was not feeling well, so the resident of the city drove him home. There he armed himself, and then returned without being checked. into Maale Adumim.
The Palestinian workers enter the inspection, yesterday, photo: use according to Section 27 A of the Copyright Law
A month ago, another attack was carried out, in the exact place where the hundreds of workers flocked yesterday.
A terrorist stabbed a security guard at the guard post.
He was shot, injured and later took control of a weapon and tried to use it to shoot the security guards.
After the serious attack last August, the municipality announced that every worker who comes to work in the city - will undergo a check using a magnetometer.
It was also decided that workers will be prohibited from entering with a bag, and that all bags in their possession will be checked before entering.
But statements are separate and reality is separate.
Although a magnetometer was placed at the entrance to the city, but according to the residents, the terminal has been hacked, and it does not include a mirror device and is not adapted to deal with hundreds of Palestinians, so the checking is not optimal.
"They go through the magnetometer, but move the bags and bags aside. It's a joke," say eyewitnesses.
Urgent letter to the Minister of Defense
The Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Struck, wrote an urgent letter to the Minister of Defense Yoav Galant, so that he would address the failure that occurred at the entrance to Mishor Adumim at the upcoming cabinet meeting.
"According to evidence from the field, the security check system (terminal) is far from being normal," she wrote and demanded to examine the multiple claims heard from the field.
stroke
Will an inspection team be established for the event?, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Strock requests answers from Galant regarding the status of the inspection systems in all the industrial areas where Palestinian workers work;
How does the system intend to prevent a similar invasion in the future, and if an investigation team will be established for the incident.
"This serious incident, which has ended for the time being with no casualties, must be a warning sign for the future," she said.
The Ma'ale Adumim municipality denied the evidence: "The security situation has been upgraded in recent times, especially with the opening of the inspection terminal about two months ago. The inspection is done for each employee personally, the bags are opened and the contents are checked."
The municipality claimed that "the security system at the site provides the best and maximum response, especially in the current period", and emphasized that the security system and security patrols at the site will even be increased.
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