Early one morning a couple of weeks ago, rheumatologist Anas Muhana got into his 2008 tan Mercedes jeep, turned on the ignition and drove from his home in Ramallah to his work at Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

It was the first time he had been allowed to do this in 15 years.

Muhana is Palestinian. His car has a green and white Palestinian license plate. And in 2000, at the start of the second intifada, Israel stopped allowing cars with Palestinian plates to cross checkpoints from the West Bank.

But now, for a select few Palestinians, Israel has eased this restriction. For the first time in a decade and a half, some Palestinian residents of the West Bank can now drive their own cars, with Palestinian license plates, into Israel.

It's part of a series of modest policy changes Israel hopes will improve Palestinian lives and Israeli security.

'An Easy And Smooth Ride'

The opportunity to drive to work is limited to Palestinian doctors who already are allowed to be employed in Israel — and only 100 of them.

For Muhana, it came as a surprise. One day the hospital personnel manager said Israel had offered some permits and asked Muhana for his driver's license, car registration and insurance.

"I thought it was a joke," Muhana said. "I gave him the papers and wasn't really expecting anything. Then suddenly after two weeks, some people started to drive."

To prepare for his first time, he took everything out of the car that Israeli soldiers might interpret as a weapon, including a screwdriver and other tools he keeps in the car for emergencies.

But that morning at the checkpoint, they just looked at his documents — one permit for the car, and another for him to drive it. Then they waved him through.

Still, remembering back when it was normal for Palestinians to drive into Israel — and routine to be stopped by Israeli police — he stayed alert all the way to work.

"There were lots of police cars, and I was imagining at any time I will be stopped," Muhana said. "But luckily, nobody stopped me. It was an easy and smooth ride to Jerusalem."

Jewish Israeli settlers drive their cars though checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank all the time. So do Palestinians who are citizens and residents of Israel. But with yellow and blue Israeli plates, and Israeli ID, they don't need extra permission.

Muhana always does. Over the past 15 years he has waited hours at walk-through checkpoints and paid for plenty of cabs. He says driving himself is less hassle.

He doesn't have to dress so much for the weather. If he needs to bring anything, he doesn't have to haul it by hand.

"If you want to carry sandwiches, you have to carry a bag. With your car, you could put anything you need," Muhana says. "If you are a bit late to go to work, you could just start your car and go."

But Muhana is not sure what Israel is trying to accomplish.

"It makes some difference to a very tiny portion of the Palestinian population. But how much difference is this? Very little," he says. "We are still under occupation."

Small Steps For Civil Life

Israeli Lt. Col. Kobi Gertswolf with COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, says this and other policy changes are an experiment.

Since the end of last summer's war, Israel has taken several small steps in an attempt to improve everyday life for Palestinians without sacrificing Israeli security.

"The goal ... is to improve the economic situation and the civil life of the residents," Gertswolf says.

In addition to the 100 driving permits, Israel has also lowered to 22 the age that married West Bank Palestinians must be to apply for an Israeli work permit. The Israeli military has opened several roads in the West Bank that had been closed to Palestinians.

Depending on security, more changes may come, Gertswolf says.

"We believe that [a] good econom[y] will give good security, but the opposite is also right — good security can give the opportunity to take some other steps."

One change already in place could affect 400,000 Palestinians who live in the West Bank, he says. Men over 55 and women over 50 can now enter Israel with no prior authorization.

Palestinians line up at the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem on a recent morning. Since Israel stopped requiring older Palestinians to obtain permits in advance, crowds have been growing, particularly on Friday when Muslims want to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Palestinians line up at the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem on a recent morning. Since Israel stopped requiring older Palestinians to obtain permits in advance, crowds have been growing, particularly on Friday when Muslims want to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Emily Harris/NPR

Crowds are already increasing at the Qalandia checkpoint close to Jerusalem on Fridays, when Muslims want to pray at al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

They must all walk through. That means first lining up in narrow caged corridors, waiting for turnstiles to unlock. When they reach a station with a soldier, they show ID, give a fingerprint, go through a metal detector and send their bags through an X-ray.

Ilham Salami, 64, has gone to pray several Fridays since the change started. She is happy she no longer has to get a permit in addition to the walk-through procedure, but she wants more.

"We are thrilled to go to Al-Aqsa," she says, in the back of the line with her husband. "One prayer there is worth 500 said somewhere else. But I would like to just get on the bus, stay on the bus and get to Al-Aqsa. Our children would also like to join us, but they are not allowed."

No one knows when or if that might change. No one even knows how long the new policies will last.

One night recently, a rocket shot from Gaza landed inside Israel. Israel immediately canceled permits for 200 Gazans who had been cleared to visit Al-Aqsa mosque the next day.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now let's talk of crossing boundaries in the Middle East. Israel has made it easier for some Palestinians to come and go. It's one of several changes intended to improve daily life for Palestinians under Israeli rule. For 15 years, Palestinian residents of the West Bank have not been able to drive their cars into Israel. A Palestinian license plate gets the car stopped at a checkpoint. NPR's Emily Harris reports on the very limited change to that rule.

EMILY HARRIS, BYLINE: Only Palestinian doctors already allowed to work in Israel can get the permits to drive their own cars to their jobs, and only 100 of them. So rheumatologist Anas Muhana counts himself lucky.

ANAS MUHANA: Good morning. You're so active.

HARRIS: How are you?

MUHANA: Good.

HARRIS: I met him early one morning to ride with him from his home in the West Bank about 10 miles to the Jerusalem hospital where he works. First decision - which Israeli military checkpoint to go through.

What would you normally do?

MUHANA: Well, this is my second time, so there is no normal yet.

HARRIS: The first time Muhana drove a few days earlier, he took everything out of the car that Israeli soldiers might interpret as a weapon, like a screwdriver. But they just looked at his documents and let him through. Still, he stayed alert all the way to work.

MUHANA: I was looking around, lots of police cars, and I was imagining at any time that I will be stopped. But luckily, nobody stopped me. It was an easy and smooth ride to Jerusalem.

HARRIS: Palestinian citizens and residents of Israel drive their own cars between Israel and the West Bank all the time. But with Israeli plates and Israeli ID, they don't need extra permission. Muhana does. Over the past 15 years, he has waited hours at walk-through checkpoints and paid for plenty of cabs. He says driving himself is better.

MUHANA: If you want to carry sandwiches, you have to carry a bag. I mean, with your car, you could put anything you need. You could - if you are a bit late, you could go to a - you could just start your car and go there. It's dignity and hassle.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Shalom.

MUHANA: Shalom.

HARRIS: This day, he shows a checkpoint soldier two permits in Hebrew, one for the car and one for him to drive it. Once again, it's an easy crossing. Muhana says he's not sure what Israel is trying to accomplish.

MUHANA: It makes some difference to a very tiny portion of the Palestinian population, but how much difference is this? Very little.

HARRIS: Lieutenant Colonel Kobi Gertswolf is with the Israeli military agency in charge of Palestinian civil affairs. He says this is an experiment, trying to improve everyday life for Palestinians without sacrificing Israeli security.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL KOBI GERTSWOLF: The goal of us is, first of all, to improve their economic situation and their civil life for the residents. We believe that good economic will give the good security, but the opposite is also the right. Good security can give the opportunity to take some other steps.

HARRIS: Another step already taken allows more Palestinians to apply for work permits in Israel. The Israeli military also re-opened several West Bank roads that had been closed to Palestinian cars. Older Palestinians can now enter Israel with no prior authorization. This alone could affect 400,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken).

HARRIS: Crowds are already increasing at the Qalandiya checkpoint on Fridays when Muslims want to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. They walk through, lining up in narrow caged corridors, waiting for turnstiles to unlock, showing ID, giving a fingerprint, going through a metal detector and putting bags through an X-ray. Sixty-four-year-old Ilham Salami is happy she no longer has to get a permit before all that, but she wants more.

ILHAM SALAMI: (Through interpreter) We are thrilled to go to Al-Aqsa because one prayer there is worth 500 somewhere else, but I would like to just get on the bus, stay on the bus and get to Al-Aqsa. Our children would also like to join us, but they are not allowed.

HARRIS: Salami disappears through a turnstile and into the next line. Nobody knows how long these changes will last. One night recently, a rocket shot from Gaza landed inside Israel. Israel immediately canceled permits for 200 Gazans who had been scheduled to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque the next day. Emily Harris, NPR News, Jerusalem. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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