Two West Bank crossings will now stay open till midnight instead of 7pm: Jalama, north of Jenin, and Beit Mishpat near Ramallah. All other checkpoints are set to operate as usual.
Israel’s Arab citizens will be allowed to enter Bethlehem via the Rachel crossing to visit their families in the West Bank, and some Palestinian families who have relatives in Israel will be given permission to cross into Israel for a week, according to IDF.
Only Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 will be allowed to enter Jerusalem’s Temple Mount for prayers at al-Aqsa mosque, IDF said.
According to an IDF spokesperson, the Israeli authorities have briefed all their forces on the new measures, and have also instructed IDF soldiers in the West Bank to refrain from eating and drinking in public as a mark of respect.
Photo: Kobi Wolf/IRIN |
Israeli soldiers inspect Palestinians' documents at Hawera checkpoint outside Nablus |
While B'tselem recognizes a certain easing of the checks being carried out at checkpoints inside the West Bank, it says this is only inside the main West Bank area itself, and mainly for vehicles.
According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Monitor July 2009, there were no major changes in Palestinian movement and access in July; the easing reported over the past few months continues, while the number of “closure obstacles” - checkpoints, roadblocks, metal gates, earth mounds, walls, trenches and other barriers - in and around the West Bank and Gaza remains constant, with a total of 614 staffed and unstaffed obstacles in July, compared to 613 in June.
Aid workers have long complained that the existence of such obstacles impedes the delivery of humanitarian aid.
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