West Bank checkpoint eased

JERUSALEM, July 2 (UPI) -- Israel will no longer check Palestinian pedestrians or vehicles using a major West Bank checkpoint unless terror threats are received.

The Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus is considered the largest checkpoint in the West Bank and is used by thousands of Palestinians daily.

A report in Maariv Thursday said the Israeli army ordered soldiers to stop inspecting Palestinian pedestrians using the checkpoint and for some weeks Palestinian vehicles have been allowed to pass through freely,

The army said Israeli troops will continue to maintain a presence at the checkpoint, allowing soldiers to act in the event intelligence received indicates possible terror attacks.

In recent years, Israeli troops deployed at the checkpoint have thwarted numerous terror attacks and arrested scores of Palestinian terror suspects, including Palestinian minors caught wearing bomb belts who intended to detonate them either at the checkpoint or inside Israel.

The newspaper said in recent weeks the army has removed a number of West Bank checkpoints as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority and also due to the fact that Palestinian security forces are now deployed in some of the major Palestinian cities.