The report stated that Hamas’s military wing has, meanwhile, raised its level of alert following an Israel Defense Forces war exercise, dubbed “Chariots of Fire,” out of a fear that the exercise is cover for a future attack.
Israel Keeps Gaza Crossing Closed to Palestinian Workers
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by JNS.org
The gate of Rafah border crossing is seen, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip November 18, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa.
JNS.org – Israel’s Security Cabinet decided on Sunday evening to maintain the closure on the Erez Crossing linking Gaza to Israel, preventing the flow of some 12,000 Palestinian Gazan workers into Israel for work, Ynet reported.
Crossings for humanitarian medical reasons will be allowed to 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 have been closed since May 3, 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 Rummanah in northern Samaria, near Jenin, the hometown of the terrorists who murdered three Israeli civilians in Elad on Thursday.
“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.
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It also noted the differentiation between Israel’s policy towards Judea and Samaria and to Gaza. In the former, Israel is conducting counter-terror operations, while in Gaza, Israel is opting for civilian measures to exact a price from Hamas.
