Palestinian workers are now permitted to work in Israeli West Bank communities, the IDF told military reporters on Monday, following a ban imposed by Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth on Saturday.
“The return of Palestinian workers to communities in Judea and Samaria will be allowed, in accordance with the procedure for securing workers in industrial zones and communities,” the IDF said.
The lifting of the ban follows a weekend of violence in the West Bank, including a terror attack at Gilad Farm on Friday in which two Israelis, 32-year-old Master-Sergeant (res.) Benayahu Melet and 27-year-old IDF Maj. Yuval Ezra, were killed.
Prior to the attack, a group of Israeli civilians had illegally crossed into Palestinian Authority-controlled territory during a hike, leading to a confrontation with local Palestinians, with one eventually opening fire on the Israelis, the military said.
The IDF arrested over 70 suspects on Saturday following the Gilad Farm attack after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a sweeping crackdown, including increased troop deployments, new checkpoints, and expanded counterterrorism operations.
On Monday, the Israel Police said the terrorist’s father had been arrested and taken in for questioning, noting that there was no evidence suggesting the father was involved in the attack.
The father was arrested as part of Border Police operations in Tal near Nablus, Ramallah, Shuweika near Tulkarm, and Bani Naim near Hebron.
The IDF recently decided to increase its presence in the West Bank, with senior military officials describing the situation as “highly volatile and extremely dangerous.”
A security official warned on Sunday that the situation was “a snowball rolling downhill,” cautioning that “it will be difficult to stop.”
A large-scale operation against terror infrastructure and incitement is expected to be postponed until after Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, according to a senior security official.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.
Source:
www.jpost.com
