Israel Closes Border Crossings With Gaza Following Rocket Launch
Image by Getty Images
Israel has closed the two border crossings between Gaza and Israel in the wake of a rocket fired into Israel from Gaza.
Israel’s closing of the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings indefinitely beginning on Saturday angered Hamas in Gaza, who called the decision “collective punishment.”
“The justifications given by the (Israeli) occupation to shut down crossings are unacceptable,” senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouq said in a statement released Sunday, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported. He charged that the closure violates the Aug. 26 cease-fire that ended Israel’s 50-day operation in Gaza, and that it violates international agreements as well.
A rocket fired from Gaza landed in Israel Friday evening, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF reported. It is the second time since the cease-fire took effect that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in Israel. Israel did not return fire.
The Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza has also been closed for the last week following attacks on Egyptian security forces patrolling the Sinai. A meeting in Cairo to continue indirect cease-fire negotiations was postponed last week by Egypt due to the Sinai unrest.
“Today’s restrictions on movement raise the specter of a return to Israel openly closing crossings in response to rocket fire, punishing civilians in Gaza in pursuit of so-called political or security goals. This is a dangerous regression to a policy that is not only illegal under international law but also has been discredited by senior Israeli security officials as counter to Israeli interests,” Eitan Diamond, director of the Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement said in a statement.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
