Israel will take targeted security measures and allow greater access to the Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan

Although further terrorist actions may be imminent, Israel will continue with its plan to ease restrictions on Palestinian civilians in an apparent attempt to help calm tensions during the holy month of Ramadan, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Monday.

This year, Naftali Bennett's government has been on high alert after three Palestinian attacks in Israel in recent weeks that killed 11 people. The attacks raised doubts about whether the new rules would be canceled, but the new coalition government has tried to prevent a repeat of last year's violence with a series of incentives.

Sources confirmed that security forces are “definitely” seeing an increase in aggression in the area and know that they must be prepared following recent attacks and counterterrorism operations in which weapons and bombs were found and ended with the arrest of several terrorists.

Still, sources said that authorities are acting with very precise intelligence to maintain targeted actions against these objectives and prevent escalation. The goal is to strike a balance between security and civilian measures, allowing Palestinians who are not involved in terrorist actions to move, the sources said.

The measures

On Tuesday, Israel announced what it called a “series of civil steps for Palestinians” on the occasion of Ramadan amid tensions in East Jerusalem.

The measures include the possibility for Palestinian women from the West Bank to enter Israel without a permit for Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque. Palestinian men over the age of 50 and under the age of 12 may also enter to pray, while entry to men between the ages of 40 and 49 will be allowed as long as they have a permit granted by the army. Thousands of Palestinians with close relatives in Israel also received permits to visit them between Sunday and Thursday.

The use of incentives around the shrine, built on a hilltop complex known to Jews as the Temple Mount, comes a year after the outbreaks led to the Israeli invasion of Gaza in May.

These measures are important even for the Hamas terrorist group, the sources said.

Security officials said they will meet again to consider whether to expand these measures further. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said last week that he would consider further easing restrictions if the situation remains calm. The minister, who spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Ramadan and the Passover holiday “should be a time of peace and quiet,” adding that Israel “will continue to work vigorously to prevent harm to civilians and security forces.”

On the other hand, sources also confirmed the willingness to rebuild and fix parts of the Judea and Samaria security barrier in order to increase stability and security. Two weeks ago, a Palestinian seized a breach in the fence and killed five people in a shooting attack in Bnei Brak.

Meanwhile, security forces continue to see how to act to undermine terrorist threats, the sources said.

In that regard, this morning Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers operated in various locations in Judea and Samaria, arresting 13 suspected terrorist agents. IDF and ISA forces carried out counter-terrorism activities in the towns of Burqa and Qallil, where IDF soldiers arrested eight suspects and confiscated four vehicles and two weapons.

The soldiers also arrested two Hamas terrorist agents at two locations in the city of Hebron and two suspects in the city of Al Aroub who had fire-bombed civilians on Route 60 in the past, as well as two suspects in the cities of Bruqin and Meithalun.

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