Gaza residents in bus leaving crossing (file)
Gaza residents in bus leaving crossing (file)Flash 90

Israel said Wednesday it was revoking permits for hundreds of Palestinian Arabs living in Judea and Samaria to visit relatives in Gaza after a series of terror attacks on Israelis - several of them fatal.

The announcement by COGAT, the agency that manages civilian affairs between Israel, the PA, and Gaza was the latest reversal to measures easing movement for Palestinians during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Earlier Tuesday, COGAT announced it would tighten access of Palestinian Arabs to the Temple Mount. Men under 50 and women between 16-30 would only be admitted if they held permits. 

It came as 26-year-old Malachi Rosenfeld, fatally wounded in a shooting attack outside Shvut Rachel on his way back from a basketball game Monday, was buried Wednesday in Kochav Hashachar where he lived.

Education minister and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett, speaking in a graveyard eulogy, said "our enemy is not a partner for peace; their way is that of terror and will be treated as such."

Over the past 14 days, there have been a number of violent incidents in which Palestinians have knifed or shot at Israeli security personnel, as well as shot dead an Israeli hiker, in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. 

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday "there was no doubt that one of the significant factors behind the attacks was incitement, specifically of the Palestinian Authority."

Hamas claimed responsibility for Monday night's shooting attack. 

On Wednesday, the Shin Bet internal security agency announced it had arrested 40 members of Hamas in and around Shechem (Nablus). 

They were part of an attempt to set up a network that would enable attacks on Israeli targets, Shin Bet said, and included contact with Hossam Badran, a Qatar-based Hamas commander.

Those detentions led to the arrest of two Hamas operatives in nearby city Jenin who were preparing an attack, Shin Bet said.

AFP contributed to this report