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Israel retracts facilitating measures for Palestinians during Ramadan following deadly Tel Aviv attack

Xinhua, June 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli authorities on Thursday suspended measures meant to facilitate Palestinians during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan following a shooting attack that left four Israelis dead in Tel Aviv.

The Defense Ministry announced on Thursday morning it had suspended permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians to travel into Israel during the holiday month.

According to the Coordinator of the Government's Activities in the Territories (COGAT), operating under the defense ministry and handling civil matters in the West Bank, 83,000 permits for Palestinians traveling from the West Bank to visit family in Israel, specifically in East Jerusalem, were retracted overnight Wednesday.

Furthermore, 500 permits for people from Gaza Strip to travel to the East Jerusalem al-Aqsa mosque for prayers were also revoked, according to COGAT.

Permission was also retracted for 200 Gazans to visit relatives in the West Bank during the holiday, and for 500 Palestinians from the West Bank planning to visit family in Gaza.

Furthermore, 500 permits were revoked for West Bank Palestinians planning to travel abroad.

Israel announced the measures last week to ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan, and has done so in past years as well.

The suspension of the permits is not the only punitive measure deployed following the attack Wednesday at Sarona center, a dining and shopping area in Tel Aviv. Four Israelis were killed and five others injured in the shooting.

The Israeli military imposed a closure on the Palestinian village of Yatta in the southern West Bank overnight Wednesday, from where the attackers came from.

The siege was implemented "in accordance with security assessment in the defense establishment," a Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said in a statement.

The Defense Ministry also said it would freeze the working permits of 204 members of the shooters' family.

Palestinian media identified the two attackers on Wednesday as Muhammad and Khalid Mhuarma, cousins in their early 20's from Yatta. One was arrested, while the other was shot and seriously wounded.

Following Wednesday's attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened top security personnel for consultations, shortly after landing from a visit to Moscow.

Netanyahu went to the scene of the attack overnight, close to the military headquarters, and vowed a "decisive action" to track down those responsible for the attack.

Israel and the Palestinians have been mired in a wave of violence since October, killing 205 Palestinians and 32 Israelis.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian authority of inciting violence, but the Palestinians say the unrest was the result of the 49-year Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, where they wish to establish an independent state.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East War, home to more than 5 million Palestinians. Endit