Israeli army eases restrictions on Palestinian town of gunmen from Tel Aviv attack

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eased restrictions imposed on a Palestinian village in the West Bank last week, after two of its residents carried a shooting attack killing four Israelis, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The IDF imposed a siege on Yatta, a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, on Wednesday night, after two Palestinian cousins from the village shot and killed four Israelis and wounded five others at a popular Tel Aviv restaurant and retail center.

It has been one of the deadliest attacks in the current wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, which started in October and had since claimed the lives of 32 Israelis and 205 Palestinians.

Palestinian residents can come into the Yatta village and leave after being inspected by soldiers, unless they are between the ages of 15 and 25, the Walla! news website reported on Monday.

Shortly after Wednesday's attack, Israeli soldiers mapped out houses of the attackers, in a first step in the controversial procedure of demolishing homes, which Israeli believes may deter future attackers. They also carried out raids and made arrests in the village.

The easing of the siege on Yatta took place just as a general closure imposed on Palestinians in the West Bank in the past few days has been lifted. The Israeli defense establishment ordered the closure ahead of the Jewish Shavuot holiday, celebrated on Saturday and Sunday.

While the closure was declared amid a slew of other measures in response to the attack, it is customary for Israel to impose closures on the Palestinian territories during Jewish holidays.

Other measures Israel ordered after the attack included suspending more than 83,000 permits allowing Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to travel into Israel, to meet their families and pray in Jerusalem, amid the month-long Muslim holiday of the Ramadan.

The Israeli military also announced the addition of two battalions to a local division in the West Bank, and revoked working permits from 204 family members of the attackers. Several ministers also suggested not to return bodies of attackers who were killed to their families, and expedite the controversial process of home demolition.

The U.S. administration last week warned Israel in an unusual statement against punishing the entire Palestinian community who try to "go about their daily lives" for the heinous attack.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian Authority of inciting violence amid the wave of unrest, whereas the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of lands on which they wish to establish a Palestinian state. Endit