News Brief07:57 AM

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli authorities are issuing 1,500 special permits to Arab businessmen in Judea and Samaria, according to Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the European Union ambassador to Israel. The new permits are another "good will" measure towards easing travel for Arabs at the checkpoints, which the international community wants dismantled, despite their role in preventing terrorist attacks.

Preparing for a Saturday night visit by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that the checkpoints and roadblocks will remain in force but other measures will be taken to ease travel restrictions. He also approved allowing new equipment and armored vehicles for Palestinian Authority forces, but he did not detail the types or amounts.
 
Recent comments by senior government officials have indicated that Israel has gone as far as it can in concessions to the PA and have pointed out that the PA has not fulfilled its obligation to fight terror and halt anti-Zionist incitement. "The fact that there were very few or almost no terrorist events ... is not because of the security forces of the Palestinians, it is because of the efficiency of the security forces of Israel," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters Wednesday.