Israel to close West Bank, Gaza crossings during High Holidays

The Israeli military announces that it will be closing the crossings and checkpoints into the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, as it does nearly every year.

Closures for Jewish and Israeli holidays are a routine procedure, intended both to prevent terror attack attempts in Israel during the holiday period and to allow the Israeli security officials who operate the crossings to celebrate the festival.

The Rosh Hashanah closure will begin on Saturday at midnight and last until 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, September 12. The Jewish new year holiday begins on Sunday evening and lasts through Tuesday night.

In addition, the Erez Crossing into the Gaza Strip, which has been closed since Wednesday due to a riot on the Palestinian side of the facility the day before, will remain shuttered as a punitive measure until next Thursday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Tuesday.

Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis out of humanitarian and medical considerations by Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians.

The Yom Kippur closure is scheduled to begin at midnight on Monday, September 17, and end at midnight on September 18.

The closure for the week-long Sukkot festival will begin on September 22 at midnight. It will continue for the full week in the Gaza Strip, ending on October 1 at midnight.

In the West Bank, however, the crossings and checkpoints will re-open for the intermediary days — known as chol hamoed — from September 25 to 28.

The West Bank’s industrial areas will not be affected by the closure and will remain open throughout the holiday season, the army says.

— Judah Ari Gross