Palestinians from Gaza banned from coming to work in Israel after new rocket attacks

For several days, the trend has been for renewed tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, after several attacks carried out by Palestinians from the West Bank in Tel Aviv. This week, several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israeli airstrikes against the enclave. They caused no casualties and most of the projectiles were intercepted by the Israeli missile shield. Friday evening and Saturday, three rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip bordering southern Israel and controlled by the Islamists of Hamas, towards Israeli territory, without causing any casualties.

Too much provocation for Israel, which announced its intention to ban Palestinians from Gaza from working on its territory from Sunday, a retaliatory measure decided after new rocket attacks from the enclave. This decision to close the Erez crossing, the only one for the movement of people between the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory, will affect thousands of Palestinians in the poor enclave subjected to an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years. At the end of March, Israel announced that it would increase the number of work permits granted to Palestinians in Gaza from 12,000 to 20,000, particularly in the construction and agricultural sectors.

Clashes on the esplanade of the Mosques in Jerusalem

The religious context is particularly sensitive: while Muslims are in the middle of Ramadan, Friday marked the end of the celebrations of Passover, the Jewish Passover. However, clashes have been opposing demonstrators and Palestinian faithful to Israeli forces for a week on the esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part occupied by Israel. The clashes left more than 250 Palestinians injured and the Israeli authorities who control access to the esplanade closed the crossing points allowing Palestinians from the West Bank to travel to Jerusalem.

Friday before the rocket fire, Hamas organized a major demonstration in the enclave in solidarity with the Palestinians of East Jerusalem where clashes on the esplanade of the Mosques made the same day about fifty wounded. The presence on the esplanade during Ramadan of many Jews, authorized to visit the place at specific times without praying there according to the status quo in force, and the deployment of police forces was widely perceived by Palestinians and several countries. of the region as a gesture of “provocation”.

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