Israeli Arabs are being allowed to visit Jenin as part of confidence-building measures by the Palestinian Authority.
Scores of Israeli Arabs streamed into the West Bank town Monday as part of a trial arrangement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which has been deploying police in a bid to prove it can provide security in areas under its control.
Israeli military officials said that Arab citizens, but not their Jewish compatriots, are being allowed to make day trips to Jenin to shop or meet Palestinian kin. The visitors, currently limited to approximately 100 per day, are expected to return by nightfall and could be subject to questioning and searches.
Jenin was long a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism and saw a bloody Israeli security sweep in 2002. Since P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas broke with Hamas last year, the town has been among the areas in which he has ordered a law-and-order drive.
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