IDF soldier in military court (file)
IDF soldier in military court (file)Flash 90

An officer in the IDF's Central Command was brought in for investigation Thursday morning, over suspicion that he issued entry permits for Arab residents of Judea and Samaria in return for bribes.

According to the suspicions, which first arose around two months ago setting in motion a military police investigation, the officer did not issue permits according to regulations to Arab residents who were to undergo security checks, and received benefits from them, reports Walla!.

Suspicions were strengthened throughout the covert investigation that has been conducted in recent months, leading today to an open investigation of the officer and four Palestinian Arabs who are suspected of having received permits from him illegally.

"The most serious part is that this is a repeating problem - officers who have authority but don't stand up to temptation," a senior IDF source told Walla!. "We are at the height of the investigation and additional arrests are expected."

Aside from the repeating problem of soldier's succumbing to greed, Arab residents of Judea and Samaria have been caught in the past with forgery labs to create counterfeit entry permits, for use in either criminal or terrorist endeavors.

The IDF Spokesperson Unit released a statement in response to the new development, saying the military police's Criminal Investigation Division has launched an investigation, and that when it has concluded the results and opinions of the military court will be announced.

Adding to the seriousness of the suspected crime is the fact that Israel, and in particularly the capital city of Jerusalem, has been suffering in recent months from what has been termed a "silent intifada," with the number of terror attacks spiking in recent months.

That has included incessant rock attacks, lynch mobs, live gunfire and attempts to blow up a gas station in the capital.

The incidents have made starkly clear the danger of illegal entry from areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), senior members of which have recently called for "slaughtering" Jews in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, a full return to terrorism, and "open war" on the Jewish state.