IDF to punish permit-breaching workers

West Bank Palestinians may lose their work permits if they exceed the approved time limit.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Palestinian worker 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Palestinian worker 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
The IDF will begin on Friday to sanction Palestinian workers who stay in Israel beyond the time allotted to them in military-issued permits, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Under new guidelines that go into effect on Friday and were approved by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni and the head of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Palestinians could lose their work permits if they exceed the approved time limit. Some permits allow Palestinians to remain overnight in Israel while others allow them to enter Israel in the morning and return to the West Bank by nightfall. "The sanctions will not be immediate but will begin at a later stage," one official said. The goal is to reduce the number of illegal Palestinian workers into Israel. It was not clear what the sanctions would include, but officials said that if the workers did not abide by their permit's conditions they could lose them. "Staying in Israel illegally is a dangerous phenomenon that involves criminal and terrorist activity," the official explained. "This is a security precaution." In addition, the IDF will only allow Palestinian workers into Israel via 13 West Bank crossings that use computerized systems to record identities and times. Starting Friday, the Palestinians will also have to return exclusively via these computerized crossings.