Israel’s Security Cabinet decided on Sunday evening to maintain the closure on the Erez border crossing linking the Gaza Strip to Israel, preventing the flow of some 12,000 Palestinian Gazan workers into Israel for work, Ynet reported.
Crossings for humanitarian-medical reasons will continue, subject to approval by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, IDF Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian.
Crossings linking Israel to Judea and Samaria, which had been closed since May 3, which was Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, reopened on Monday in line with the Cabinet decision. However, travel restrictions remain in place around the village of Rumana in northern Samaria, near Jenin, the hometown of the terrorists who murdered three Israeli civilians in Elad on May 5.
“The decision to continue the closure on Gaza is designed to send a message to [Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar]: There is a price to your incitement,” said the report.
It also noted the differentiation between Israel’s policy towards Judea and Samaria, and Gaza. In the former, Israel is conducting counter-terror operations. In Gaza, Israel is opting for civilian measures to exact a price from Hamas.
Meanwhile, the report stated that Hamas’s military wing has raised its level of alert following a war exercise by the Israel Defense Forces dubbed “Chariots of Fire” out of fear that it is cover for a future maneuver.
