Status: 04/23/2022 11:18 a.m
Israel has once again reported rocket attacks by militant Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Now the country is closing its only border crossing for thousands of workers from the area – by when is unclear.
After a series of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israel has announced the closure of the only crossing point for coastal workers. The Israeli military said the border crossing would not open at the start of the working week on Sunday. The reopening will be decided in accordance with a safety assessment.
In recent months, Israel has issued thousands of work permits to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. It has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the militant Islamist Hamas took power there nearly 15 years ago.
More rocket fire from the Gaza Strip
According to Israeli information, militant Palestinians fired rockets from the Gaza Strip again on Friday evening. The Israeli army said one rocket fell on Israeli territory and a second in the Gaza Strip. A third rocket was later fired. According to eyewitnesses, two people in the Gaza Strip were injured by one of the rockets. Israeli media reported that the other two did no harm.
Several rockets had already been fired from the coastal area at Israel this week. There were no casualties in the attacks, most of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. After the first two rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s army responded with airstrikes in the Palestinian coastal area and, according to its own statements, hit an underground rocket factory.
New clashes on the Temple Mount
The rocket fire came amid near-daily clashes on the grounds of – and in front of – the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. On Friday, there were again confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount. The Palestinian rescue service Red Crescent reported 57 injured Palestinians. Police reported dozens of masked people throwing stones and firecrackers. Some Muslim believers tried unsuccessfully to stop the stone-throwers.
Israel had taken east Jerusalem – which contains important holy sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims – along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war. The Palestinians see all three areas as part of their future state.
Violence in Jerusalem, a series of deadly attacks in Israel and Israeli raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have fueled fears of renewed war between Israel and Hamas. In 2021, under similar circumstances, there was an eleven-day armed conflict between Israel and Hamas.