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View of the Jordanian side as it seen from Naharayim. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)
(Basel Awidat/Flash90)
Israel to build high-tech security wall along Jordanian border
While the exact completion timeline remains under wraps, ministry officials indicated construction will begin within months.
Although Jordan remains one of Israel’s few Arab allies, Iranian smuggling networks are treating their shared border like an open highway for terror operations. That’s all about to change.
Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday he’s won approval for a sophisticated multi-million shekel border barrier, loaded with cutting-edge sensors and surveillance networks, to close a critical 309-mile security gap that Tehran has increasingly exploited.
“We see a relentless and institutionalized Iranian effort to establish an eastern front against the State of Israel. I have decided to intensively promote the construction of the fence on the eastern border between Israel and Jordan. We are going to do it very quickly,” Katz said.
Katz first called for the construction of a fence on the border with Jordan in late August, when he served as Foreign Minister. At the time he accused Tehran of working to create an “eastern terror front against Israel.”
However, security officials have been raising red flags about the border’s vulnerabilities since early 2023.
Former IDF Central Commander Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs went so far as to send a formal warning letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi before his retirement.
The October 7 Hamas attack only intensified these concerns, though questions remain about whether the IDF will boost troop presence along the new barrier or rely primarily on technology.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Katz had to overcome longtime opposition from Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who had repeatedly blocked funding despite growing security concerns.
Sources suggest Katz may have leveraged rescinding any new administrative detention orders against violent Jewish activists in Judea and Samaria to secure Smotrich’s cooperation.
While the exact completion timeline remains under wraps, ministry officials indicated construction will begin within months.
Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir has already ordered Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir’s engineering division to begin mapping the challenging terrain and producing specialized barrier materials.”