Israeli Company That Built Gaza Fence Sees Opportunities in Trump Era
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Naomi Zeveloff November 21, 2016
The Israeli company that fenced in the Gaza Strip has seen its stock price rise since Trump’s win.
Because Magal Security Systems Ltd. specializes in “smart” electronic fences and other security systems, it is celebrating Donald Trump’s election win as a boon to business.
“Trump’s victory brings great opportunities for anyone in the security and defense market,” Magal CEO Saar Koursh told The Jerusalem Post. “I’m not taking a political position here, I’m merely noting as a CEO of a security company: When you have an administration that is more security-oriented and will allocate budgets to that end, many in the market including us will enjoy that.”
During the election, a Magal representative told the Forward that Magal was interested in working on Trump’s proposed wall between the United States and Mexico should he win the election.
“Now that Trump is in power there’s a lot of talk of finding solutions for the U.S. borders, and we are a major player in that field,” said Koursh. “Even before the elections, most of our business comes from the US, in fact more than half of our company is located in North America and we are well known by American institutions and contractors.”
Magal points to the border fence it build around Gaza when working to secure contracts to fortify borders around the world. The “smart fence” features motion detectors, ground sensors, video cameras and satellite monitoring.
The Israeli government says the fence is crucial to keeping Israel safe. Palestinians say the fence and Israel’s blockade of the strip amount to collective punishment for Gazans.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected] or on Twitter @naomizeveloff
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