Israel moves ahead with delayed eID program

Israel is expected to start issuing its new electronic ID card before the end of next year, SDW has learned. This follows the signing of a contract today by the Israeli Ministry of Interior and a consortium led by HP Israel. The deal brings to an end considerable delay caused by various legal issues. It is expected that five million eID cards will be ordered.

In addition to the eID project, which is now expected to move forward quite swiftly, a biometric enrolment project is also expected to be announced in the coming weeks. This is required in order to start enrolling Israelis in preparation for the issuance of the new eID card.

Biometric enrolment will take place in Population Registration Offices throughout the country. Enrolment will include fully ICAO compliant face and fingerprints (two fingerprints), plus a signature.

The biometric enrolment solution will be implemented within the 2009 timeframe, and, crucially, will also serve the country’s planned ePassport project, also expected to roll out before the end of 2009.