60 road blocks to be opened, simplified entry for business, tourism.
By YAAKOV KATZcheckpoint kalandia 224.(photo credit: AP)
The IDF has announced a series of steps designed to help Palestinians in the West Bank, IDF spokesperson announced Sunday.The statement follows a Sunday evening meeting between Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrachi, commander of the Central Command, Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, head of the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, and PA officials.RELATED:Will Israeli tour guides be allowed tolead tours to PA?Passage procedures of Palestinian businessmen to or from the West Bank will be simplified, and tourists will be permitted to pass through all entry points to Bethlehem. In addition, 50 Jewish tour guides are to be granted entry to Bethlehem and Jericho.The IDF is also slated to remove sixty road blocks in the West Bank, open the Daharia checkpoint south of Hebron and the Keidar road for unrestricted Palestinian movement.Arab Israelis will be granted entry to the city of Tulkarem on weekends via checkpoint 104, and through all seam zone entry points to the West Bank.The IDF statement ends with a reaffirmation of its commitment to fighting terrorism while liaising with the Palestinians in order to maintain an acceptable routine.