Israel closes off West bank until end of Shavuot on June 12

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Israeli military said on Friday, June 10 the West Bank will be closed off until the end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on Sunday, due to security concerns following a Palestinian shooting attack this week in Tel Aviv that killed four Israeli civilians, the Associated Press says.

The army said that crossings will be open for "humanitarian and medical" cases only and for Palestinians to worship at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians attended prayers at the mosque on Friday, the first of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Police were on high alert in Jerusalem and prayers passed peacefully.

Much of the past months of violence stems from tensions at the hilltop compound. Muslims refer to it as the Noble Sanctuary, and it is their third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is the holiest site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount because of the revered Jewish temples that stood there in biblical times.

West Bank closures are often imposed ahead of holidays in Israel when there are fears of Palestinian attacks. Tensions are especially high now after Palestinian gunmen killed four people and wounded five others in a popular and crowded area of Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, AP says.

Over the last eight months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and car ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most identified as attackers by Israel. The assaults were once near-daily incidents but they have become less frequent in recent weeks.

The day after the Palestinian shooting, Israel froze 83,000 permits for Palestinians in the West Bank to visit relatives in Israel. The army imposed checkpoints to restrict movement in and out of the village where the Palestinian gunmen in the Tel Aviv attack were from.