The Israeli-Egyptian Border
The Israeli-Egyptian border is the southernmost border of the State of Israel––a roughly 152 mi (245 km) barrier fence built by Israel. IDF soldiers are stationed along the entirety of the border to keep close watch over the area, where enemies such as ISIS and local criminal organizations are constantly learning, adapting and trying to execute terrorist and criminal activities, despite Eygpt’s efforts to prevent them. In honor of Passover, the holiday on which the Israelites fled the land of Egypt, this is how the IDF ensures that the border with Egypt remains peaceful:
28.03.21
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One might think that the border between Egypt and Israel is relatively quiet, without any terrorist or criminal activity, following the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. But last year alone, the number of terrorist and criminal activity increased by 11%. Terrorist organizations such as ISIS, as well as local criminal organizations, approach the border an average of three times a week with the objective of infiltrating Israel.
January 2020
Preventing smuggling in the Paran Brigade
“The Egyptian border is a particularly challenging border. On the one hand, due to the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, it is a peaceful border, but on the other hand, it is full of non-stop operational activities,” remarked Captain Alina Dikovski, commander of Field Intelligence Company in the Paran Brigade, which is responsible for defending the Israeli-Egyptian border. “Along the border, there are many observation posts and observers, observing 24\7 to identify potential suspicious events and people. Together with the brigade’s combat soldiers, the observers plan the following steps to prevent terrorist acts from occurring.”
There are two categories of day-to-day routine along the border––activity by the international terrorist organization, ISIS, and criminal activity of Egyptian crime gangs. “ISIS is the enemy, and criminals gangs are the opponent. The opponent is very sophisticated. We need to learn the opponent’s moves over and over again, and we know that they study our moves as well. Every observer knows their territory, knows how to recognize the signs, and knows how to advise the combat soldiers in the area to monitor the border in the most effective manner,” told Captain Alina.
January 2021
Five suspects with five sacks of drugs approached the border. At the same time, IDF soldiers arrived on RZR vehicles and confiscated the drugs. Each bag weighed about 20 kg \ 40 lbs.
“In recent years, the opponent has become particularly violent. In the Nitzana area, for example, there are a lot of violent smugglings––frequent gunfire, squads firing everywhere. This area is full of towns populated by families, and our mission is to protect them” said Captain Alina, regarding the mission of her company. “The opponent carries out their activities, no matter the cost because it is their livelihood. It can happen on average three times a week.”
January 2021
IDF troops prevent a smuggling attempt along the Egyptian border.
“The issue that we are facing on the Egyptian border is a national issue––the opponent is trying to harm the State of Israel’s sovereignty.” Capitan Alina concluded, “our goal as the IDF is to make sure that the enemy knows that this border is impenetrable.”
