Israel rescinds 200 Gaza work permits, citing bomb worries

Suspect indicted

Israel has cancelled 200 out of some 15,500 permits issued to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to work in its territory after a labourer was accused of planning to carry out a bombing, the Shin Bet security agency said on Thursday. The suspect, arrested on October 30, told interrogators he had been recruited by relatives in the Islamic Jihad group to plant a bomb on a bus in southern Israel, the Shin Bet said. It said the suspect had been indicted in an Israeli court. It was not immediately clear if he had been assigned a lawyer or how he might plead to the charges. The Shin Bet said that among Israel's responses was the voiding of around 200 permits of workers who have militant family members. — reuters