Yehudah and Shomron Checkpoints to Be Upgraded

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon announced a two-year plan to upgrade crossings in Yehudah and Shomron, with the aim of making them more efficient and secure.

“The plan is designed to increase the number of Palestinian workers who go through the checkpoints, as well as improving their conditions and standing up to the tests of quality and service,” Yaalon said in a statement.

This plan would also “upgrade the technological level of the [security] measures installed at the crossings,” he said.

The program is projected to reduce the waiting time at crossings by “30 to 50 percent.”

In addition, it will increase the amount of goods that can be transferred by “approximately 30 percent,” he said.

The program will be implemented by the Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry and Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, at a cost of approximately NIS 300 million ($77 million), drawn from COGAT’s funds.