Israel gives legal status to 4K in gesture to Palestinians

By JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it will grant legal residency to 4,000 Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Tuesday’s decision will allow people who have lived under severe restrictions for years to get official Palestinian IDs. It’s one of a series of gestures aimed at strengthening the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and coordinates with Israel on security. Israel is trying to bolster the increasingly unpopular and autocratic PA in order to weaken its militant Hamas rivals ruling Gaza. But Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state and has shown no interest in reviving the long-dormant peace process.