The Israel Defense Forces tightened its policy of issuing entry permits to relatives of settlers residing in the Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesman announced Thursday.
From now on, entry permits will only be given to Gaza Strip residents, security and rescue forces, and non-residents providing essential services, including movers and others assisting in the evacuation.
The IDF's decision follows the infiltration of a number of right-wing activists into the Gush Katif settlement bloc in recent days and weeks.
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Senior IDF and police officials estimated Wednesday that the number of Israelis illegally in the Gaza Strip stands at 2,700 - 700 more than the IDF's highest public estimates thus far.
The infiltrators, most of whom are extreme right-wing youths from the West Bank, increased the number of settlers in the Strip by 30 percent to some 8,000 people.
The Gaza Strip was closed to non-residents on July 13, and the police admit that the permit policy is the main weak spot for keeping out infiltrators.
On Monday, for example, 1,040 permits were distributed to visitors to Gush Katif.
The permits are valid for between 36 and 72 hours, but many of the visitors ignore the restriction and stay in the Gaza Strip.
Following the large-scale infiltrations, the issuing of entry permits was restricted to close relatives of settlers, and only in emergencies.
Now, even close relatives will not be allowed to enter the Strip.
The IDF said Thursday that orders were changed when it became apparent that settlers were taking advantage of the entry permits, and were staying in the Strip for longer than the permits allowed.
Last week, the army tightened its policy on entry to the Gaza Strip and prevented guests from attending an engagement party and various family events.
Military sources admitted that this week, the policy was less assertive.
The official excuse was that relatives of Gaza residents should be allowed to bid farewell to the area, although entry permits were also issued for other types of visits.
Despite the increase in the number of infiltrations, the IDF claims that even the infiltrators won't disrupt the evacuation.
Military sources said Wednesday they believe most of the infiltrators are not violent and said that very few pullout opponents would resort to violence against soldiers and police officers
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