Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – The Israeli army closed the West Bank for two days starting Thursday midnight on the occasion of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar).
The Israeli army's spokesperson's unit said in a statement that all crossing to and from the West Bank will be closed until midnight Saturday in accordance with security assessments. It added that that following orders of Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, individuals will be allowed to cross in cases of extreme medical or humanitarian emergency, subject to the approval of the Civil Administration, an Israeli military department responsible for coordinating civil issues between Israeli government and the Palestinians. The statement added that thousands of Palestinian workers will be barred from reaching their places of work during the two-day closure. There are some 35,000 of Palestinians working in Israel with permits and some 30,000 are working without permits from Israeli security authorities. Israel usually imposes general closure on Palestinian territories at the start of Jewish holidays. It says that the idea behind such a closure is to protect large gatherings of Jews during the holiday from terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem police announced that, following a security assessment, they will be restricting the entry of Muslim worshipers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound for Friday prayers. The police said that only men aged 45 and over with Israeli ID cards will be allowed to enter the compound. Police in large forces will be deployed around the Old City starting on Friday morning to maintain order during Yom Kippur.
Also in Israel, the police Insp.-Gen. Yohanan Danino has ordered cops stationed in cities with Arab and Jewish populations to raise their level of alert as Israelis prepare for Yom Kippur. According to Israel Radio, Danino has instructed his top commanders to reach out to religious leaders on all sides in hopes of defusing tensions during the next 36 hours.
