Israel Increases Work Permits for Gaza Palestinians

 Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
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Israel Increases Work Permits for Gaza Palestinians

 Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)
Palestinian workers from Gaza cross the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing to work in Israel. (DPA)

The number of entry permits for Palestinian workers from Gaza will increase to 20,000, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told military reporters on Thursday.

Gantz further linked the implementation of any key civilian development projects in the coastal enclave with the return of Israelis held in Hamas captivity.

In June, Israel approved issuing 2,000 additional permits for Palestinian workers, raising the figure to 14,000, which later reached 20,000.

The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the decision following discussions.

This decision comes in line with Israel’s strategic plan to maintain calm.

In return for its implementation, the minister asked the Palestinian Authority to implement trust-building measures.

“We ask it to expand its security activity in in Area A and halt its petitions to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.”

According to Israeli sources, the plan is part of the government’s decision to maintain economic peace while ignoring political peace.

Israel seeks to pressure the ruling Hamas movement against any possible escalation by improving the economic situation in Gaza.

Earlier this year, the number of Gazan workers in Israel did not exceed 5,000. Since then, it has been rising by a few thousands every few months.

Political authorities believe the gradual increase in the number of Palestinian workers will prompt Hamas to consider any escalation since it will take into account that the thriving labor movement is a major factor in supporting the economy.

Workers bring to the enclave up to 90 million shekels per month, in light of the difficult and deteriorating economic situation there.

However, military authorities insist that when Hamas decides to escalate tension it will not consider any economic factor.



Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis's support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

These positions became particularly evident in Francis's response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.

"He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times -- for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm," said the patriarch.

He added that by doing so, the pope "became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this".

Out of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the besieged territory.

"Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict," said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff's actions.

"For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy."

The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even as "the local authorities... were not always happy" with the pope's positions or statements, they were "always very respectful", he said.

Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the morning.

As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.

Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.

His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.