Israel is quietly allowing thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to enter Israel to work, the AP reported on Tuesday.
As part of an unofficial Egyptian-brokered truce with Hamas, Israel is helping Gazans in return for fewer rocket attacks and weekly protests along the border fence, according to the report. Israel has also allowed Qatar to deliver millions of dollars in cash to the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Palestinian officials say that Israel is now providing 5,000 permits for workers in construction, agriculture and manufacturing, according to the report.
The AP quoted Salih al-Ziq, the head of the Palestinian Authority’s liaison committee that coordinates the travel of Palestinians into Israel, as saying Israel had increased the quota for trader permits from fewer than 1,000 in 2017 to 5,000 today.
Another Palestinian official told the AP on the condition of anonymity that the P.A. was not involved in the decision to increase the number of permits, which the official said was based on a deal reached between Israel and Hamas.
