Israel locks out Palestinians during Jewish holidays
Troops sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip today, imposing a virtual blanket ban on Palestinians entering Israel until the end of the Jewish holiday season next month, due to fears of terror attacks.
Defence ministry officials said the ban, which was due to begin at 6am local time (4am Irish time), was expected to last through the Jewish New Year, which starts on Wednesday, and continue to Yom Kippur 10 days later and the week-long Sukkot festival, which begins on September 29.
Since fighting erupted four years ago, Israel has restricted the movement of Palestinians to varying degrees, tightening the restrictions at times of high alert.
Travel bans have become a feature of Jewish holidays, when Israelis gather in synagogues and at public festivities, presenting a potential target for militant raiders.
The bloodiest attack during the four years of fighting took place at a seaside hotel in April 2002 when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Passover dinner gathering, killing 29 people.
Thousands of Palestinians cross into Israel each day and military sources said humanitarian cases would still be allowed into Israel for medical treatment and other pressing needs.
Tensions have been high following a suicide bombing last week in the southern city of Beersheba that killed 16 people.
Fighting has surged since the suicide bombing. Earlier this week, an Israeli air strike in Gaza killed 14 Hamas militants. Yesterday, Israeli troops killed eight Palestinians, including a nine-year-old boy, in a string of clashes in the West Bank and Gaza.
Most of the fighting occurred in Gaza, a volatile area that prime minister Ariel Sharon wants to evacuate next year. Israel captured the area, home to 8,000 Jewish settlers and 1.3 million Palestinians, in the 1967 Six Day War.
