IDF checkpoint (illustrative)
IDF checkpoint (illustrative)Flash 90

The Israeli government is expected to approve an additional 15 thousand work permits for Palestinian Authority Arabs who would be allowed to work in Israel.

Channel 10 News reported on Tuesday evening that the Arab workers would be allowed in Israel to work in the fields of agriculture and trade. The defense establishment is pushing to increase the number of permits even further, according to the report.

Israel has in the past considered revoking work permits to family members of Palestinian Arab terrorists who carried out lethal attacks against Israelis.

But Jewish Home chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday night that he and his party support the additional work permits and have supported similar moves in the past.

“We have always support this. It is the right thing to do economically and security wise for Israelis and Palestinians,” Bennett tweeted, adding, “By the way, it is rare that Palestinians with a work permit carry out terrorist attacks.”

Indeed, Bennett has in the past called to double the work permits handed to Palestinian Arabs, explaining that those with permits don't conduct terror attacks.

That claim has proven wrong on numerous occasions, though, such as in the case of an Arab terrorist who last November murdered two Jews in Tel Aviv, and who, like many other terrorists, took advantage of his legal status to launch an attack.

Meanwhile, it was reported earlier on Tuesday evening that five armored vehicles were transferred from Jordan to the Palestinian Authority this week, via the Allenby crossing.

Haaretz reported that the armored vehicles were handed over to Palestinian security forces, and that their entry had been approved by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.

The reason provided for the transfer of the vehicles at the present time was due to a deterioration in the security situation in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.