IDF looks to install biometric ID systems at West Bank agricultural
crossings*

By YAAKOV KATZ
The Jerusalem Post

A year after installing biometric systems at checkpoints throughout the
territories, the IDF plans to begin using the advanced identification
technology at "agricultural crossings" used by Palestinians to pass
through the West Bank security barrier to enter and work their fields.

A Palestinian man uses a biometric identity card to pass through one of
11 checkpoints that currently have such systems.

"The vision is to have carousel gates that open and close automatically
after the Palestinian is checked by the biometric systems," a
high-ranking Civil Administration officer told The Jerusalem Post on
Monday. "If this happens, we might even be able to reach a stage that a
soldier will only have to be there to ensure that the Palestinian is not
carrying any explosives or weaponry."

In 2006, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories,
responsible for the Civil Administration, began issuing biometric
identity cards to Palestinian residents of the West Bank with permits to
enter Israel.

The cards, which contain a special microchip, are issued at Civil
Administration offices outside West Bank towns once every two years.
They enable Palestinians to pass through checkpoints within a matter of
seconds, as opposed to minutes.

This past month, the Civil Administration celebrated the one millionth
time that the card was used to pass through one of the 11 checkpoints
that have biometric systems. Some 150,000 Palestinians have been issued
the card.

The biometric systems at the checkpoints include a face- and hand-scanner.

The decision to issue the biometric cards was made in an effort to
combat the growing forgery industry in identity cards issued by the
Palestinian Authority.

"By using a biometric card, the soldier at the checkpoint does not need
to check to see if the identity card is fake or not," the Civil
Administration officer said. "This saves time and also makes it easier
for the Palestinian who needs to pass through the checkpoint."

The biometric initiative was made in line with the Civil
Administration's ideology that the quality of life within Palestinian
towns is directly connected to the level of terrorism directed at Israel.

"If more people can come into Israel for work, then the [Palestinian]
economy is better," the officer said. "And if the economy is better,
then fewer people will be involved in terrorism."