'Fence Me In': Israeli Security Fears Run High

JERUSALEM, Israel, 6 Feb, 2008— -- When two Palestinian suicide bombers launched an attack in the Israeli town of Dimona on Monday morning, Israeli political and security officials all turned their gaze south, towards the notoriously porous border fence with Egypt.

Ever since the fence between Gaza and Egypt came down on Jan. 23, Israeli officials have been warning that Palestinian militants would exploit the chaos to launch attacks through the Egyptian border.

Dimona is in the south of Israel, not far from the border. The attack last month seemed to confirm those fears.

As if to finish the puzzle, two Palestinian militant organizations claimed responsibility, saying the suicide bombers had indeed come from Gaza. There was even the traditional goodbye video of two young men posing in front of the red and yellow flags of Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

But it was the wrong two young men.

Yesterday Hamas stepped forward and claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the attackers came from Hebron, not Gaza.

This morning a new video was released. Two different young men, Shadi Zghayer and Mohammed Herbawi, this time in front of the green flags of Hamas.

But even though the attack came from the West Bank and not Gaza, the Israelis today say a missing fence is still to blame.

Israel's controversial West Bank barrier is almost finished. But a small section just south of Hebron is still wide open. The foundations are in place, but not the fence itself. It is through this area that Israeli security officials now believe the two bombers managed to leave the West Bank on their way to Dimona.

Today the Israeli policeman in charge of the area said the gap in the fence is "calling out to terrorists." Commander Uri Bar Lev was appearing before a committee of Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset, the country's parliament. "Every day thousands of Palestinians enter Israel through this gap," he said. "It is imperative to obstruct the passageway."

Meanwhile the border between Israel and Egypt remains the focus of intense political debate here in Israel. Hundreds of miles through a desert landscape, not all of it fenced, with very few Egyptian or Israeli guards, provides plenty of opportunity for smugglers, asylum seekers or terrorists to slip through.