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The Airport Needs a Fence

(Ha'aretz) - Ze'ev Schiff The last session of talks in Washington with Condoleezza Rice on the subject of the fence was surprising and much worse than expected on a matter of utmost importance to Israel: the security fence in the area of Ben-Gurion International Airport. What Rice had to say contradicted the spirit of previous communications between Israel and U.S. representatives, including Middle East envoy John Wolf, on the subject. An assault on Ben-Gurion International Airport constitutes a unique threat to the strategic infrastructure of the country that could paralyze movement in and out of the country. There will be complete support for the government on the security of the airport, even at the cost of losing some of the loan guarantees. A passenger aircraft approaches the airport for a landing at low altitude, slowly. That is precisely the stage at which it is very easy to strike a plane with a shoulder-fired missile and bring it crashing down with its passengers. The security of the airport demands a band of territory of at least nine kilometers. After a series of requests, Rice agreed to send an inspector to Israel to examine the situation. He can also take the measurements from home, using, for example, the Ronald Reagan airport in Washington.
2003-09-26 00:00:00
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