by Prof. Etak Zisser
The economic collapse of countries around us, an atmosphere of security chaos, and mainly climate disasters that ravage peoples' sources of income will only increase the flow of labor migrants and refugees to Israel's doorstep.
The collapse of Lebanon as a country, which limits Hezbollah's freedom of action and forces it to focus most of its energy on its problems at home, hasn't led to quiet on the northern border. We've repeatedly witnessed infiltration attempts from Lebanon into Israel. Surprisingly, though, it isn't terrorists trying to enter Israel, but labor migrants seeking shelter and work in the Jewish state.
We can only assume that as the crisis in Lebanon worsens, attempts to infiltrate Israel will increase and the foreign labor migrants from Turkey or Africa will be joined by Lebanese nationals and even Palestinians living there.
Infiltration attempts by young labor migrants from Jordan are also a matter of routine –despite the fact that Israel allows thousands of Jordanians to enter Israel to work in hotels in Eilat. And finally, young Palestinians from Gaza are also trying to sneak into Israel, not to harm Israelis but to find work. After all, Israel is the only First World country that has a land border with a surrounding Third World, which can be reached on foot.
In the past, it was the border with Egypt that was open to tens of thousands of labor migrants from Africa, who trekked thousands of miles from Sudan or Eritrea, paid a fortune to Bedouin smugglers, and crossed virtually unimpeded into Israel. Someone in Israel, however, came to his senses, and a barrier was built along the border that has stemmed the tide of labor migrants along with infiltration attempts by Islamic State terrorists operating out of the Sinai Peninsula. And yet, the several years of ensuing quiet have been followed by increasingly slack security and maintenance along the border, which could lead to another migrant wave into Israel.
Israel's attractiveness to labor migrants, mainly due to its geographic proximity and accessibility, is relevant to several issues currently on the national agenda, among them the Citizenship law, easing of restrictions for the labor migrant community in Israel, and of course the question of the "right of return" which still looms large as a Palestinian demand and precondition for any future diplomatic agreement.
However, many of those involved in handling these matters are missing the point. For instance, the argument used to be that most Palestinians would not utilize the "right of return" and would prefer to stay where they live and, that therefore Israel should concede the issue by offering a symbolic gesture.
But there's no reason to assume that Palestinians – like any other inhabitant of the region seeking to immigrate to more advanced, developed countries in the West – won't jump at the opportunity if it falls into their laps. Not as part of a plan to eventually eradicate Israel, but as part of a fundamental human desire to improve their quality of life and offer a better future to their children. The Citizenship law is also a tool that many will seek to exploit to improve their situations, as will be each eased restriction Israel offers to labor migrants or Palestinians seeking residence.
The economic collapse of countries around us, an atmosphere of security chaos, and mainly climate disasters that ravage peoples' sources of income will only increase the flow of refugees to Israel's doorstep. This isn't about nationalistic conflict, hence diplomatic avenues of action opposite our Arab neighbors won't solve the problem.
Prof. Etak Zisser
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/can-a-security-fence-stop-a-tidal-wave/
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