Due to Wave of Terror, Israel Suspends Entry Permits of Arabs from Hebron

Due to the wave of terror, Israel is revoking entry permits to Palestinians from Judea and Samaria. Most of the terrorists – some of them employed by Israeli businesses – hail from the Hebron area.

Israel has revoked the entry permits into Israel of 1,200 Palestinians from the Hebron area, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced Thursday.

No new permits will be issued to Palestinians from Judea and Samaria.

The decision was made following the terror attack in Tel Aviv Thursday, in which a Palestinian from Hebron stabbed three Israelis who had just left prayer services.

The assailant, a resident of the village of Dura in the Hebron region, reportedly had been issued a work permit less than a week ago after undergoing a background check by security, indicating no record of terror activity. He found employment at a restaurant in the vicinity of the Panorama office building in the southern Tel Aviv, where he committed the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security consultation with IDF, Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers and officials, where they discussed, among other issues, action to be taken concerning the Hebron area and steps against Israelis who employ or aid Palestinians illegally in Israel.

A great majority of the murderers in the current wave of terror, which began in September, are from Hebron and the surrounding area.

Police and Shin Bet agents arrested nine people in Tel Aviv – six Palestinians employed without a working permit and three business owners suspected of employing Palestinians illegally.

Terror attacks carried out by Palestinian employees – whether legal or not – are not a new phenomenon. In October, for instance, a Palestinian construction worker stabbed five Israelis with a screwdriver outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. The victims were lightly injured.

By: Terri Nir, United with Israel