IDF Expands Number of Travel Permits for Gazans Ahead of Xmas

By: Aryeh Savir

The IDF is expanding the number of travel permits it is issuing to Gazans ahead of Christmas, enabling them to travel to Jerusalem and Bethlehem for the holiday.

The IDF stated Sunday night that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun has “extended the travel facilitations for the Christian population of Gaza in recognition of the Christmas holiday.”

Entry permits for Jerusalem and for the Judea and Samaria area will be issued “in accordance with security assessments and without regard to age,” the IDF stated.

COGAT, the IDF unit entrusted with implementing the government’s civilian policy within Judea and Samaria and towards the Gaza Strip, regularly facilitates various humanitarian projects in these areas.

The IDF was initially hesitant of issuing further permits due to the possible security threat. The Hamas terror organization, which rules the Strip, is notorious for exploiting Israel’s humanitarian permits for terrorism.

For instance, the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) in July exposed and thwarted a Hamas attempt to establish a bomb-making network in Judea and Samaria while utilizing Israel’s humanitarian medical permits for this purpose.

Fadi al-Sabah, a Hamas-trained bomb expert from the Gaza Strip, infiltrated Israel by taking advantage of a permit to receive medical treatment in the country. He was tasked with establishing a bomb lab that would supply suicide bombers with explosives.

The plans were exposed after a series of arrests among terrorists in Gaza.

In a related development, IDF forces operating on the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday shot and injured an armed infiltrator.

The IDF stated that the incident occurred in the southern Strip when troops approaching the infiltrator noticed he was brandishing a knife and shot him in the leg.

He was detained for initial questioning and then taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.

No Israelis were wounded in the incident.

Infiltration attempts on the border with the Strip happen several times a week, usually by Gazan Arabs seeking work in Israel. However, the Israeli forces treat each such incident as a potential terrorist attack.

Last Tuesday, IDF soldiers spotted a terrorist armed with an assault rifle approaching the security fence with Israel. An IDF aircraft targeted the terrorist and killed him.

In yet another development, it was reported that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out a strike in Syria on Sunday night, the state’s media reported.

The officials SANA news agency reported that the Syrian army’s air defenses intercepted “hostile missiles coming from the occupied lands.”

The report said that one of the missiles fell in the Aqraba region in Damascus’ countryside.

The IAF in August struck Iranian Quds Force operatives and Shiite militia targets in the town of Aqraba, situated south-east of Damascus.

The Iranian-led forces were planning to launch armed drones at Israeli targets in the coming days, the IDF said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has assets inside Syria, recorded at least three explosions that rocked the areas around Damascus on Sunday night.

     (TPS)