Israeli policeman
Photo: Israel Police
IDF to place West Bank, Gaza under general closure during Passover
With rising tensions in light of Hamas' planned marches on the Israel-Gaza border starting at the beginning of Passover, Israeli military decides to bolster security by imposing a general closure during the holiday on the Palestinian territories.
The IDF will impose a general closure on the West Bank and close all crossings between Israel and Gaza during the holiday of Passover.
The IDF announced that, according to an assessment of the security situation and the approval of the political echelon, a general closure would be imposed on the West Bank and the crossings in the Gaza Strip would be closed from midnight on Thursday night to Friday.
The closure is set to be lifted on Saturday, April 7, at midnight (on the night between Saturday and Sunday).
Border Police troopers (photo: Israel Police)
During the closure, passage will be permitted in humanitarian, medical and exceptional cases only, subject to the approval of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
Thousands of policemen, border police officers and volunteers will be deployed near various entertainment centers and crowd concentrations in order to provide an appropriate response to any scenario and to increase the sense of security among the public.
Also in preparation for the holiday, 468 illegal Palestinian immigrants were arrested and detained in a large-scale immigration sweep to bolster security. 17 were also arrested on suspicion of helping illegal aliens infiltrate to Israel from Palestinian territories, and 14 more were arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity.
In order to avoid economic damage to the agriculture industry during the Passover holiday due to the absence of Palestinian workers, the Ministry of Defense acceded to the Ministry of Agriculture's request to allow workers to enter the country in spite of the closure imposed on the West Bank, approving the entry of some 2,000 Palestinian workers essential to the industry
The Agriculture Ministry detailed the various farms in which an absence of workers can be critical. In addition, the Ministry noted the minimum quota, out of the quota of permanent workers, required to prevent damage to the various farms.
IDF soldiers near the Gaza border (Photo: Reuters)
Tensions are high as Gaza’s embattled Hamas rulers implore people to march along the border with Israel in the coming weeks.
Beginning Friday, Hamas hopes it can mobilize large crowds to set up tent camps near the border. It plans a series of demonstrations culminating with a march to the border fence on May 15, the anniversary of Israel’s establishment, known to Palestinians as "the Nakba," or catastrophe.
Israeli Cabinet Minister Yoav Galant, a retired general and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner Security Cabinet, said that Israel had set clear red lines.
"Hamas is in distress," he said. "They are using in a cruel and cynical way their own population in order to hurt them and to hurt Israel."
He said the military was well-prepared to prevent any infiltrations. "We will try to use the minimum force that is needed in order to avoid Palestinians wounded and casualties. But the red line is very clear. They stay on the Gazan side and we stay in Israel."
