Risky business on Green Line

Jerusalem Post ^ | Jun. 27, 2003 | MATTHEW GUTMAN

[yonif]

The shooting death of Bezeq technician Amit Martin in Baka al-Gharbiya, an Arab village on the Green Line, is a further reminder that civilian Israelis working in or near the territories are easy and desirable targets for Palestinian terrorists, even in areas of Israeli security control.

Martin is not the first Bezeq worker killed in the ongoing Palestinian violence; last August company worker Nizal Awasat and security guard Yekutiel Amihai were killed in Jerusalem when a Palestinian gunman ambushed their truck near the Old City's Damascus Gate. Two other Bezeq employees were seriously injured in the attack, as well as several bystanders.

Nor was Martin the first fatality in Baka al-Gharbiya; kashrut supervisor Aharon Abidian was murdered near the village two years ago. Other workers have also been targets, such as Dror Energia truck driver Oleg Sotnikov, who was shot to death as he was making a delivery to the settlement of Kochin near Nablus in September, 2001.

The rise in the frequency and brutality of these attacks has compelled many companies, including larger ones such as Bezeq and the Electric Company, to cut down on service to clients living in the more far-flung or violence-prone areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has also forced businesses to take ever-increasing security measures to protect their employees.

Bezeq's spokesman, however, said the company does its best to balance employee security with customer service. The national phone provider has funneled "millions of shekels" into armoring cars and providing technicians with armed guards. "Nevertheless," he said, "we still provide services to the most far-flung of settlements, no matter how hard they are to get to." This is also required of Bezeq by law.

Postal Authority spokesman Yitzhak Rabichiya talked with The Jerusalem Post last year about the economic burden of supplying services in dangerous areas. "It is unprofitable to service those areas; it costs a hell of a lot of money," he said. "One armored car costs half a million shekels and people mailing a couple of letters with NIS 1.20 stamps don't pay for it. But we do it anyway.

Egged is another quasi-public company which also must continue to provide service in the territories despite the risk. Private companies, however, enjoy the option of choosing whether to work across the Green Line.

"Businesses are subject to the situation's volatility, and many won't go into the territories if it is too hot," said Yitzhak Levy, national supervisor for Industrial Explosive Ordinances, which handles many demolition jobs for construction and quarrying in the West Bank. If Israeli workers need to travel or work in isolated areas across the Green Line, the IDF has requested that their companies coordinate with them first.

Many companies lack the resources to provide continuous service to their clients in the territories under these conditions. Smaller businesses such as Tami 4, which sells water coolers, struggle to dispatch service trucks to dangerous areas such as Gush Katif. "We service some, but not all, areas in the territories," said company spokeswoman Asnat Yonovich. "But since security problems limit us from getting everywhere, we try to give practical alternatives."

An example of that is offering clients expert advice on the phone and service laboratories where customers can bring in parts for technicians to fix parts.

"People are careful about their safety," added Yonovich, "and we, as a company do not want to send our employees to dangerous places." Yet Bezeq is different. As one of the largest conglomerates in Israel, and a nationalized company, it has no choice but to send its workers not only to Jewish settlements but to Palestinian cities for repairs. Nevertheless, added the spokesman, "no one has refused to work in the territories. I have often asked around and to my knowledge our employees understand the importance of the work they do."

[yonif]

When a state is finally formed for the PLO terrorist organization, there will be risky business for Ben Gurion Airport as well.

[SJackson]

When a state is finally formed for the PLO terrorist organization, there will be risky business for Ben Gurion Airport as well.

Not necessarily. Among the many traits of a proposed "palestinian state" included in all prior plans but left out of the road map is Israeli control of West Bank airspace. Even if you discount the risk of stingers fired from the PA (I'm sure their security forces will take care of that), without the ability to fly over the West Bank Ben Gurions financial feasibility will be in jeopardy.