While few refugees from the Syrian civil war have fled to Israel, the Jewish state faces an influx of others similar to that now inundating Europe. Gideon Sa’ar discusses the threat posed to Israel by permeable borders, and what can be done:
Over the past decade, Israel has been challenged by large-scale migration from Africa, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan. Tens of thousands infiltrated into Israel from the Sinai border in order to find employment. . . . [Eventually], it was decided that a fence was to be built on the Israeli-Egyptian border, while the preventive and deterrent measures employed included the legal recourse of holding infiltrators in prolonged detention. An integrated policy was later introduced, designed to reduce the number of migrants in city centers and in Israel as a whole, and to encourage their voluntary departure. . . . [But after the Israeli supreme court struck down some of these measures], the entry of migrants into Israel resumed in the second half of 2015, although on a smaller scale. . . .
An additional challenge facing Israel revolves around illegal residents and the possibility of a non-military mass storming of its borders. Israel does not have adequate control over those coming from Palestinian Authority territory, and the Israel Security Agency estimates that there are 50,000 illegal residents in Israeli territory at any given time. More than a few terrorist attacks in the current wave were carried out by illegal residents. . . .
Israel must realize that its standard of living and proximity to conflict-torn areas in the Middle East and Africa expose it to the ongoing risk of illegal immigration. In response to this challenge, Israel must therefore adopt a clear, resolute policy. The failure of Europe in coping with mass immigration should act as a warning sign, as Israel faces the challenge of protecting its character as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Read more on Institute for National Security Studies: http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=11223