A senior Israeli official has extended the duration of a planned biometric database project that would see all citizens enrolled to improve security.On Monday, Interior Minister Silvan Shalom said the pilot project will now continue until March 2016. It was due to end next Sunday.However, following the prouncement State Comptroller Joseph Shapira wrote to him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remarking on “significant defects” in the project. The comptroller, whose report is due to be published Tuesday afternoon, requested a freeze on the legislative process.In April, information minister and public security minister Gilad Erdan has announced he will soon be forwarding legislation that would make a biometric registration mandatory for every citizen, saying that it will improve security for the state.Biometrics registration has been undergoing a two-year pilot phase in Israel with citizens given the option of applying either for regular ID cards and passport or biometric versions. However, the Central Bureau of Statistics revealed last September that only around a third of ID card and passport applicants had opted for the biometric option.
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