The IDF announces it will put in place a closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, ahead of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
The closure, a routine procedure ahead of Israeli and Jewish holidays, is expected to last until midnight on Saturday, “depending on a situational assessment,” the army says.
Palestinians prepare to cross from Israel into the Gaza Strip at the Erez Crossing, September 3, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The closure is intended to prevent attempts at terror attacks in Israel during the holiday period and also to allow the security officials who operate the crossings to celebrate the festival. Exceptions will be made for humanitarian and other outstanding cases, based on an assessment by the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration.
The Jewish high holidays, of which Rosh Hashanah is the first, are generally seen by defense officials as a period of increased tension in the region, when the risk of terror attacks is higher.
— Judah Ari Gross
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Tuesday, September 19, 2017
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