DHAKA: Israel has imposed more security measures after new attacks in the occupied Palestinian territories, widening police stop-and-frisk powers that will effectively allow them to search anyone on the street.

The Ministry of Public Security on Sunday said the government approved a bill that would enable the police to conduct physical searches on people even if there were no indications that they were carrying arms. The bill still requires parliament’s approval.

The announcement came amid a wave of violence in Israel, occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank that began early October, reports the aljazeera.com.

Current Israeli legislation only allows searches on suspicion that a person is armed.

Gilad Erdan, the minister of public security, said the new measure was passed to deal better with the "terror of knives".

Rights groups have condemned recent Israeli security measures, which Majd Kayyal from Adalah, a Palestinian legal centre in Israel, said aim to expand the powers of the police without any legal restrictions.

Just days ago, the security cabinet passed a law to allow security forces to besiege Palestinian villages, impose curfews and restrict the movement of Palestinians - measures Kayyal described as "collective punishment”.

Kayyal also condemned preemptive arrests, whereby Israeli police are arresting people before their participation in protests or taking part in riots.

“These measures put the police above the law,” he said.

BDST: 0921 HRS, OCT 19, 2015
RS