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Tens of thousands of Palestinians slid through the holes of the Israeli security fence, with the tacit approval of Israel, for a rare day on a Mediterranean beach.
By Adam Rasgon
NETANYA, Israel – The 16-year-old senior couldn’t help but smile.
For the first time in his life, Shaima Jamous felt the water of the Mediterranean straddling his feet and sand flowing beneath them. For the first time, he inhaled the salty air and swayed between the sound of the waves.
The beach in Netanya, Israel, just 30 miles from his home in Nablus, West Bank, but it may well have been another world.
“I knew I was going to finish going to the beach, but I never thought it would be so easy,” Jamous said.
She is one of tens of thousands of Palestinians who enjoyed a rare day on the beach in recent days through an informal arrangement that did not require any Israeli permission, but forced them to go through the holes of the Israeli security fence.
The opening was tacit and unannounced, and after a series of Israeli and Palestinian reports on the issue, Israel closed it on Tuesday.
The Israeli military and other security agencies declined to comment on why Palestinians were allowed to cross the gates of the fence, a series of fences and walls that cut off much of the Israeli-occupied West Bank without a permit. Israel sometimes asks Palestinians to unload travel permits, an arduous and confusing procedure that includes comprehensive security checks, to enter their territory.
Gadi Shamni, former head of the army’s central command, said he believes Israel is seeking to “relieve pressure” on Palestinians in the West Bank, where unemployment has risen dramatically since the emergence of the coronavirus.
Israel sometimes causes problems for tens of thousands of Palestinian entry permits during the Eid holiday, but it has not done so this year because of government restrictions on combating the virus.
Shamni and other former security officials warned that allowing Palestinians to enter Israel without formalities posed a security risk, which they said would take advantage of potential attackers. This fear would possibly be one of the reasons for the government’s silence about openness, which would have been unpopular with a giant section of the Israeli population.
Many citizens of Netanya, a conservative city where the right-wing Likud party won the highest vote in April’s last election, have expressed opposition to allowing Palestinians to enter Israel without permission, some welcomed it.
“These are other people who would like to spend time on the beach,” said Maurice Sedowitz, a retired dentist. “Palestinian families can laugh here with or without permission.”
Obviously, the heavily guarded borders were open to business.
A couple of Israeli infantrymen patrolling near a fence in the northern village of Faroun on Monday did nothing to prevent crowds of Palestinians from passing through with portable refrigerators and food bags. Two Israeli army cars also did not act against swimmers.
Residents of Faroun, the site of several traffic jams over the past week, have even reported seeing the army helping others through the hollow at night by turning on the lights.
News of the opening was temporarily spread on Palestinian social media. Palestinian agencies, which have suffered significant losses since the West Bank’s pandemic hit in March, have taken action.
Saadi Abu Zant, the owner of Prestige Travel and Tourism, organized two last week with stops in Haifa and Netanya Beach.
“For months, I stayed home doing nothing, ” said Abu Zant. “The openings in the fence have completely replaced that.”
Other tour operators have presented kayaking adventures on the Jordan River, excursions to the ancient city of Acre and excursions through Jaffa and Tibeíades.
On Monday, after Palestinians crossed a giant on the fence in Faroun, they headed to a box of dirt full of buses. Bus drivers sold the names of the villages: “Haifa, Acre”, shouted one of them. “Jaffa, Tel Aviv, ” said another.
The bathers paid the drivers, took their seats and left.
Azzam al-Naanaa, 44, a security guard at Husky University in Nablus who visited Netanya, said the last time he visited an Israeli beach two decades ago.
“It’s a very special delight to come to the beach, but it’s even more special because I did it with my kids,” he said. His four children were sitting in the sand and watching the waves break on the shore.
Mr. al-Naanaa stated that the Israeli government had in the past barred him from entering Israel for security reasons. He did not say why, but Israel takes such action against members of militant organizations, those he suspects are involved in violence, and others related to those who have committed violent crimes.
The West Bank has no exit to the sea with the exception of a small swath of the Dead Sea, which is warm, difficult to swim and under Israeli control.
Holes have been in the fences for years. In the past, the Israeli army turned a blind eye to Palestinian personnel crossing the gaps to gain access to structure work in Israel. But several Palestinians in the West Bank said it may not be a time when Israel allows thousands of families to cross them to the beach.
Palestinians on Netanya Beach have said they are concerned about being swollen by coronavirus when traveling on overcrowded buses; many of them don’t wear masks. But they said they didn’t hesitate to head to the beach.
“It’s a threat,” said Hiba, 40, a resident of Tulkarem. “I’ve never been able to come to the beach with my whole family.” She refused to provide her last call for fear of arrest.
Nasreen Abu Alia, an interior decorator from Nablus, sat down with an umbrella in Netanya watching her daughter play in the arena.
“I feel like I see an expensive old friend whom I missed so much,” said Ms. Abu Alia, who was visiting the beach for a moment. “Being here today is actually a dream come true.”
Mohammed Najib contributed to Ramallah, West Bank.
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