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Israel on Tuesday gave out permission to 4,000 Palestinians to register as residents of the West Bank, the first movement in Israeli-occupied territory in 12 years.
The new regular residents have already lived in the West Bank, including 1,200 people who are considered “undocumented” because they were not registered with the Palestinian population registers and another 2,800 who were previously identified as residents of the blocked Gaza Strip.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he approved the new signatures on “compassionate” grounds as a portion of his “policy to stimulate the economy and enhance the lives of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria”, using biblical terms for the southern and northern West Bank.
Mr Gantz made the first visit in a few years by an Israeli cabinet member to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks that strengthened ties with the Palestinian Authority, which suffered during the tenure of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009-2021. have got.
Senior PA official Hussein Al-Sheikh tweeted on Tuesday that 4,000 people “have been granted their right to citizenship”, receive Palestinian identity documents and changes to their residential address.
Israel has controlled the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967 and exercises full administrative control over much of the territory.
The Israeli military branch responsible for civilian affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, COGAT, said Israel had not allowed a new batch of Palestinian registrations in the West Bank since 2009.
The governing coalition of Israel, which ended Mr Netanyahu’s 12 years in office in June, said it was committed to strengthening the quality of life in the West Bank.
Some 4,75,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the West Bank that are illegally landed under international law, which Palestinians claim is part of their future state.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett opposes the Palestinian state and has ruled out formal reconciliation communications with the Palestinian Authority during his tenure, adding he prefers to focus on economic reforms.