Eilot Regional Council head Hanan Ginat responded Monday to remarks attributed to Shin Bet Director Ronen Zini, saying the eastern border along the southern Arava is already a route for constant criminal smuggling of weapons, drugs, and illegal entrants — and that the concern is the criminal axis will become a channel for terror cells. He called on the state to shift resources to the eastern border.
Eilot Regional Council head Hanan Ginat responded Monday to recent statements reportedly made by Shin Bet Director Ronen Zini, which warned that the southern port city of Eilat could face a scenario similar to the October 7 attacks and ordered an intelligence buildup.
In a statement issued by the council, Ginat said the remarks attributed to Zini — as well as comments last week by Defense Ministry Director General Amir Bream — are not surprising and mirror warnings the council has been raising since October 7. Ginat described the eastern border along the southern Arava as already serving as a corridor for incessant criminal smuggling of weapons, drugs, and illegal entrants, and expressed concern that this criminal axis could evolve into a route for terror cells attempting to infiltrate Israel and attack communities.
Ginat noted full cooperation with the regional IDF units operating in the sector and thanked the soldiers guarding the area. He called on the state to divert resources to the eastern border in the southern Arava, strengthen local defense squads in communities, and recognize what he termed the major security challenge ahead.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Monday, Shin Bet Director Ronen Zini ordered intelligence units to prioritize a scenario of a complex attack on Eilat, viewing the city's isolated geography as a security vulnerability — though some security officials expressed skepticism over concrete intelligence. Defense Ministry Director General Amir Bream warned Thursday that militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen have the capability to infiltrate from the east.
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