The Israeli occupation army decided, on Tuesday evening, to keep the main roads linking the settlements of the Gaza envelope closed for an additional 24 hours, in anticipation of a reaction from the Islamic Jihad movement in the Strip in protest against the arrest of the movement’s leader, Bassam Al-Saadi.
The Israeli army decided to continue to close roads and axes today, Wednesday, without changing the instructions, and the private Channel 13 said that the army’s decision came at the conclusion of an assessment of the situation it conducted with the participation of the settlement regional councils in the Gaza envelope.
For its part, the official Kan channel said that "the concrete warning received by the security establishment about the intention of Islamic Jihad to carry out a retaliatory attack against Israel in the form of sniper fire or anti-tank missiles, is what led to the imposition of restrictions in the south."
She added that, according to the estimates of the security establishment, "if the night passes quietly, the restrictions will be slowly lifted on the settlements around the Gaza Strip, or at least some of them."
Yesterday morning, Tuesday, the occupation army said in a statement that "in the wake of the massive arrest campaign in the West Bank, and based on an assessment of the situation and activities linked to the Islamic Jihad movement, it was decided to close areas and roads adjacent to the security fence with the Gaza Strip."
He pointed out that the decision extends to agricultural axes and roads linking Israeli population centers adjacent to the Gaza Strip borders. In addition, the Zikim Beach will be closed, train traffic between Ashkelon and Sderot will be suspended, and the Beit Hanoun "Erez" crossing will be closed to workers' movement.
Earlier on Tuesday, Islamic Jihad vowed Israel to respond to the arrest of the leader, Bassam Al-Saadi, in the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank.
The Islamic Jihad movement vowed that Israel would respond to the arrest of the leader, Bassam Al-Saadi (Reuters)
starvation policy
For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) deplored the "international silence and inaction" as a result of Israel's violations aimed at starving the residents of the Gaza Strip.
This came in a statement by the movement's spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, commenting on Israel's closure of the Kerem Shalom commercial crossings in the south of the Gaza Strip, and Beit Hanoun in the north of the private sector for the movement of individuals.
Barhoum said that "the continuation of the Zionist occupation's actions and violations against the residents of the Gaza Strip in closure, starvation and siege, are crimes against humanity."
Barhoum held the Israeli government directly responsible for the continued suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip, noting that "it is no longer possible to accept the continuation of this dangerous situation."
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz had vowed to continue targeting anyone who seeks to stir up what he described as terrorism and harm the Israelis.
After his visit to the leadership of the occupation army in the West Bank and sites along the line of contact, he said that Israel is ready for all scenarios and will respond to any threat.