Citing Bomb Worries, Israel Rescinds 200 Gaza Work Permits
YERUSHALAYIM (Reuters) – Israel has canceled 200 out of some 15,500 permits issued to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to work in its territory after a laborer was accused of planning to carry out a bombing, the Shin Bet said on Thursday.
The suspect, arrested on Oct. 30, told interrogators he had been recruited by relatives in the Islamic Jihad terror group to plant a bomb on a bus in southern Israel, the Shin Bet said.
It said the suspect had been indicted in an Israeli court.
The Shin Bet said that among Israel’s responses was the voiding of around 200 permits of workers who have terrorist family members.
“The attempt by terror groups to exploit the jobs of workers in Israel in order to carry out attacks endangers the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz posted.
Islamic Jihad had no immediate comment
Gantz, part of the Israel’s outgoing government, had championed expanding the allotment of entry permits in order ease Gaza’s grinding poverty and to stave off conflict.
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