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Israel to allow Palestinian cars into its territory for first time since 2000

Xinhua, April 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

For the first time since 2000, Israel would allow Palestinian vehicles to enter its territory, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said Tuesday.

In a statement, Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of the Israeli government's policies in the West Bank territories, said that Palestinian doctors who work in east Jerusalem would be allowed to enter Israel with their cars.

The Office of COGAT started issuing permits Tuesday to over 100 doctors from the Palestinian cities of Hebron and Bethlehem in the West Bank, he said. COGAT is responsible for implementing the Israeli government's policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"This is a significant step intended to assist doctors in completing their life-saving mission," David Menachem, chief of the COGAT's civil administration, said Tuesday.

"The success of this step will be evaluated in accordance with an assessment of the security situation," he added.

Since the Palestinian armed uprising (intifada) of 2000, vehicles that carry Palestinian license plates have been banned from entering Israeli territory.

Israel announced a series of measures to ease restrictions on the Palestinians recently. These include issuing more permits for Palestinians over the age of 50 to enter Israel, doubling Israeli water sales to the Gaza Strip, connecting the new Palestinian city of Rawabi in the West Bank to water supply and importing produce from the Gaza Strip to Israel for the first time since 2007 when Hamas took over the enclave.

Last month, Israel announced it would unfreeze the tax money it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. In the past several months, Israel did not deliver the funds to the Palestinians over the latter's bid to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where it could bring Israeli officials to court for perpetrating war crimes.

The Palestinians threatened to cut the long-standing security coordination with Israeli authorities if the funds will not be delivered.

According to local media reports, Israel and the Palestinians have reached a behind-the-scenes understanding under which Israel would ease restrictions and deliver the tax funds, while the Palestinian National Authority would refrain from submitting claims against Israel to the ICC. Endit