Sunday, March 1, 2009

More Freedom in Judea and Samaria

With the end of operation Cast Lead on Jan 19th, there were hopes of a calm coming to the residents of the south. However as the graph below shows updated to Feb 24th the number of missiles being fired from Gaza is still significant.

In fact from Feb 25th to the end of the month another 15 missiles were fired.



Now let’s compare that dismal picture with that of Judea and Samaria. With a measurable decrease in terror activities, the following easing of restrictions has and will take place:-

a) By the end of August 2009 the IDF is expected to remove more than half of the security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. When all the measures have been implemented it is expected that only 12 checkpoints will remain along the Green Line (as opposed to the 41 currently existing).
b) The access road leading from Route 60 (which runs through Judea from Bethlehem to the city of Beersheba ) to the Palestinian village of Bani Na'im , southeast of Hebron was opened to traffic after having been blocked since 2001 for security reasons .(Note : during the past year 135 barriers were removed).
c) Authorization has been given for the opening of 12 new Palestinian police stations in Area B, in addition to the 20 new Palestinian police stations authorized last year.
d)The entrance of Israeli Arabs into the city of Nablus is now authorized during weekends . A similar step was taken in the city of Jenin , bringing a significant increase in income to local businesses. The quantity of Palestinian workers permitted to enter Israel has increased, while making eligibility criteria more flexible.

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