The new biometric ID system

[tony350]

I read this in my newspaper. It's dated Wednesday, December 3, 2003.

Israel to install biometric Id system at Gaza checkpoint.
Jerusalem (AP)- Isreal's military plans to install a sophisticated biometric identification system at a Gaza strip checkpoint in an effort to speed the passage of entering Palestinian workers and limit what can be dangerous friction with Israeli soldiers.

The system, developed by On Track Innovations LTD., OTI, will use two biometric sensors to read the facial dimensions and hand geometry of Palestinian workers crossing through the Erez checkpoint, said Ohad Bashan, director of global marketing at the Israeli company.

When installed in January, the system will be the first of it's kind in the world, he said. The Erez checkpoint, at the northn end of the Gaza strip, is the main crossing into Israel for Palestinian construction or agricultural workers. Before Israeli-Palestinian violence erupted in 2000, tens of thousands of workers crossed every day.

Sincethen, Israel has severely restricted entrance, concerned about terrorists sneaking into the country disguised as laborers. Currently, about 10,000 Palestinian laborers parade every morning through the narrow passageways of the Erez checkpoint, showing soldiers laminated identification cards. If a card is believed to be fake, its owner can be held up for hours while he is interrogated and his document is checked.

The new biometric system is designed to increase security and speed up the check at the same time. Workers will carry special "smart" cards that have their facial and hand biometrics encoded. Workers passing through the checkpoint will have their heads and hands quickly scanned to make sure they match the data stored on the cards.

Read Revelation 13:16

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: