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Israel closes north Gaza border crossing
[IsraelTimes] Passage for pedestrians is sealed despite parallel reports of progress toward a ceasefire deal; no comment from Defense Ministry on how long closure will continueThe Defense Ministry confirmed Sunday morning that the Erez Crossing on the Gazoo Strip’s northern border was closed in response to Friday’s violent border festivities. The decision was made by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman after an assessment of the situation on Saturday evening. There was no mention of how long the closure would last. The move was first reported by Paleostinian media sources in Gazoo and the West Bank, who said that Israel told the Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, terror group controlling the Gazoo Strip that it would close the border crossing on Sunday morning. The border crossing, which acts as the only pedestrian crossing between the Gazoo Strip and Israel, will still be open for medical emergencies requiring the transfer of Gazooks to Israeli hospitals, according to Paleostinian media reports. The majority of pedestrians who pass through the crossing are seeking medical treatment. On Friday thousands of Gazooks demonstrated along the Israeli border near the Erez Crossing in weekly Hamas-backed "March of Return" demonstrations. Hamas leaders had urged the public to participate in Friday’s protests. Rioters hurled rocks, improvised bombs and Molotov cocktails at soldiers and burned tires to create a smokescreen. Others launched incendiary balloons toward Israel. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gazoo reported that two men had been killed and around 250 injured, of which at least 25 were said hit by live fire. The closure of the Erez Crossing comes as senior members of Hamas say that negotiations for a long-term ceasefire deal are in "the final stretch." Posted by: trailing wife 2018-08-20 |
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