Senior Israeli officials have said that a biometric database linking all passports and ID cards will be obligatory by next year.Interior Minister Arye Dery was speaking as the millionth member of the database was enrolled.”From now on anyone obtaining a document from the Interior Ministry, whether an ID card or a passport, will receive a biometric one. We've decided on having this database and we'll soon decide what will be included in it,” Dery said at a ceremony marking the registration, which was held at the new Population and Immigration Authority office in south Tel Aviv, reported Haaretz.”Israel is joining many other countries around the world which have concluded that their citizens should have smart and secure documentation. With all the attempts by various organizations to steal identities, it's important to have a smart and reliable document,” Dery added. At the end of the ceremony he issued himself one.In March, Israel's parliament voted to extend an identity database scheme that will link citizens to their biometric data. Following a request by the scheme's organising ministry, the Knesset voted 41-32 in favour of a nine-month extension of the current biometric database pilot program despite signs that support for the initiative, even within the coalition.

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