The Israeli army announces Monday it will be sealing off the West Bank and Gaza Strip over Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The military says it will make exceptions for medical emergencies and “humanitarian cases,” with the approval of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
The closure will take effect on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. and is expected to last until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., dependent upon a “situational assessment,” the army says in a statement.
Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, begins Tuesday at sundown and ends Wednesday night.
While the decision to close off the West Bank and Gaza comes after a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem, in which a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israelis and injured five more, the army routinely seals off the West Bank on Jewish holidays.
— Judah Ari Gross
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 10, 2016
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