Tens of thousands of Palestinians have had their Ramadan travel permits frozen by the Israeli government, following the shooting deaths of four people by two Palestinians in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

"All permits for Ramadan, especially permits for family visits from Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] to Israel, are frozen," a statement by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories said, according to Middle East Eye .

The statement went on to say that the decision directly affected 83,000 Palestinians and that hundreds of Palestinians living in Gaza would also be blocked from traveling. Police have said that the two attackers, who were both capture alive although one was wounded, were cousins from Hebron in the West Bank. More than 200 relatives of one of the attackers are included in the travel ban.

In response to the Wednesday attack, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also promised "intensive action," saying that the police, the army and other security services will be used to prevent further attacks.

"We discussed a range of offensive and defensive steps, which we shall take in order to act against this phenomenon," Netanyahu said.

Throughout Ramadan, thousands of Palestinians usually visit al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam. Residents of Gaza and the West Bank must apply for travel permits in order to visit al-Aqsa, other holy sites and family members.

Now, as a collective punishment, tens of thousands will be refused the basic right to see their family members and to celebrate the holy month as they please.

The President of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, Jean Hammam, announced at a press conference the names of eight athletes who are set to represent the nation at the Rio 2016 Olympic games.

Runner Chirine Njeim, Asian U-23 fencing champion Mona Shaito, Asian Judo Championship runner-up Nacif Elias, and winner of the Hong Kong table tennis Olympic Qualifiers Mariana Sahakyan  are heading to Rio after achieving the qualification standards.

Additionally, four Lebanese athletes have been granted wildcard invitations to the Olympics due to their recent achievements.

National record-holding swimmers Gabriella Doueihy and Anthony Barbar were chosen via the wildcard system to represent Lebanon in Rio’s swimming event. Ray Bassil, one of the best Lebanese shooters of all time, was also granted a wildcard spot for ranking first-place among the world’s trap shooting women. She had successfully leaped from 36th place to first.

Finally, canoeist Richard Merjan’s wildcard spot was assigned after he reached the finals of the 2016 Asian Championship and finished sixth in the C-1 category. He will thus be the first canoeist to represent Lebanon at the Olympic Games.

"Since I was a child I have always been amazed by the Olympics. After discovering the most beautiful sport in the world and 15 years of training, hard work and dedication, I have the opportunity to shine and show my true colours to the world," Merjan said.

Mazen Ramadan, the head of the Lebanese Olympic Delegation, noted that Bassil and Merjan’s wildcard spots remain subject to change based on international ranking and further accomplishments. He added that one more wildcard invitation will be given to one of five athletes under consideration for the athletics category.

Wild cards are entries into specific sports at the Olympics without the need to accomplish the minimum qualifying time or benchmark for the event.

This allows countries to send their best athletes to the games despite not fulfilling the qualification standards. The International Olympic Committee’s wildcard system aims at reinforcing the principle of universal representation at the global event, by encouraging the participation of the maximum number of nations.

The committee assured that all its resources are being exploited to guarantee the athletes’ readiness for Rio, in hope of a much-needed Olympic medal.