What is significant about the 'Good Fence' is not really the fence at all, but its gate. The fence simply marks the international border between Israel and Lebanon. But the gate marks the opening of relations between the citizens of the two countries.

In June 1976, the Israeli government announced that it was opening a section of the border to allow medical and other aid to reach the residents of southern Lebanon. The border was opened near Metulla; the gate in the fence marks the crossing point where the medical center was located. Every week for a number of years, the villagers of southern Lebanon came to this gate and received help from Israeli personnel.

Slowly the program expanded. Lebanese workers deprived of work in war-torn southern Lebanon began receiving permits to work in northern Israel. Lebanese citizens who had relatives in Israel were allowed to visit them. Schoolchildren began to visit sites in Israel, and vacation camps were arranged for them. Agricultural aid was given, veterinary help was offered, and commercial ties between Israel and Lebanon were established.
 

The following report appeared in the Davar newspaper in 1981:

         The stories behind the pictures kept the media busy for months: the story  of the first Lebanese resident who reached the Good Fence with her son  and the Israeli soldier who helped her get treatment for her child; of the first Lebanese soldier, severely wounded, who was also treated, but who died before he could return home; the first armored car that traveled the south Lebanon road near the border, followed by the first tank, filled with militia soldiers waving and making 'V' signs; of the first south Lebanese         laborers who crossed over to find work in Israeli territory; and of Sister Enid, who served an important role in the clinic at the Good Fence.

         During the first weeks, the crossing point was simply a crooked fence - all you had to do was to crawl beneath it to get to the other side. After a while, a more official crossing was established near an I.D.F. post, close to an apple orchard belonging to a Metulla resident. A hut was set up, which turned into a clinic, followed by other buildings used as waiting rooms and reception areas. The national flag was also not forgotten, of course, and a dirt road was laid later for the convenience of those coming to the area. Order reigned over the area, and nobody, not even veteran Metulla residents, minded that this point on the uneasy border had turned      into a tourist site, attracting visitors from all over the world.

         With the opening of the Good Fence, Israel’s northern border began to take on some of the characteristics of a 'normal' border. From a complete lack of contact - the sealed border of early 1976 - relations warmed  considerably. In 1981 alone, some 50,000 Lebanese visited Israel, and in  the first four years after the opening of the fence, Israeli doctors treated some 200,000 patients.

         But it did not last. P.L.O. continued to build up their strength in southern Lebanon, and eventually Israel decided to take action o remove the threat. This was 'Operation Peace in the Galilee' or 'The Lebanese War.'
 
 

This article was taken from a series of books called 
"Getting Israel Together" and is Copyright © 1992 - 2004 

The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, JAFI. 

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