The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied, on Thursday, a report that it had issued instructions banning school trips in Judea and Samaria, as well as in the Judean desert, Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas. A military spokesman clarified that in the last two days, the IDF emphasized the requirement that approval for trips was confirmed.
Reacting to the report that sparked the denial, the Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Human Rights Organization sent a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday that the instruction represented a concession to terror that contradicts a Supreme Court decision against closing areas in the name of protecting citizens. Against the backdrop of this week's terror attacks in the area, she called on Barak to freeze the easing of travel restrictions on the Arab population.