Tensions have been high in the region following Israeli police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, triggering clashes with Palestinian worshippers, and sparking a fresh round of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza militants earlier this week…reports Asian Lite News
Israel announced that all crossing points of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip would remain closed until Thursday for security reasons. Entry permits to Israel for working purposes or for Ramadan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during the period will be canceled, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
It was decided upon “an operational situation assessment” that the closure, originally planned to be lifted overnight on Saturday, will be in place until the end of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, according to the statement.
Gallant also instructed the defence establishment to allocate more resources and soldiers to enforce the activities of the Israeli police.
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The decision came after two deadly attacks which Israel deemed as acts of terror by Palestinians. On Friday, two British-Israeli sisters were killed and their mother seriously injured in a drive-by shooting attack in the West Bank Jordan Valley. At night, an Arab citizen of Israel rammed his car at a group of tourists at Tel Aviv’s coastal promenade, killing an Italian tourist and injuring seven others.
Tensions have been high in the region following Israeli police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, triggering clashes with Palestinian worshippers, and sparking a fresh round of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza militants earlier this week.
Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war and has continued to control these territories, where Palestinians hope to establish their future state.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian armed forces said that a rocket exploded in the air over Jordanian territories near the border with Syria, and no injuries were reported.
The army said around 10:25 p.m. local time (GMT 1925) on Saturday, a rocket exploded in the air over Wadi Aqraba Valley in Irbid governorate, which led to its shrapnel falling on the ground in the same area.
The army said no loss of lives or properties was reported, adding that the Royal Engineering Corps’ teams headed to the site to deal with the incident.
The army added that they are closely following up on the situation in the area
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A Palestinian was killed on Saturday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the village of Azzoun, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a press release that A’ahead Isleem, 20, was shot in the chest and abdomen by Israeli soldiers and died later on the way to the hospital. No other injuries were reported, the statement added.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said the incident took place during clashes in the village between stones-hurling Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, who responded with teargas, stun grenades, and live ammunition.
The ministry said that since the beginning of this year, the Israeli army and the security forces have killed 95 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 17 children and a woman.
Official Israeli figures said that 18 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that four Palestinians were injured Saturday in an attack by Israeli settlers on Palestinian vehicles at the north entrance to the city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank.
The report said that several Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles as they crossed the Israeli military checkpoint of Beit El at the north entrance to the city, injuring four Palestinian passengers and damaging their vehicles.
Israel, which occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, has constructed dozens of Israeli settlements since then. According to official Palestinian figures, more than 500,000 settlers live there. The international community considers Israeli settlement illegal.
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