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Israel Seals off Palestinian Territories to Prevent Violence
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has ordered to seal off the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, barring Palestinians from entering Israel in a bid to prevent a possible outbreak of violence on Friday in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The ban went effective at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) Friday and will last till the end of the two-day Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Monday.
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most important day of the Jewish year. It starts at sunset Sunday and ends on Monday night.
The ban was issued in response to the militant Palestinian Hamas movement's call for a "Day of Rage" on Friday to mark the bloody shooting at the Palestinians on the Temple Mount, known to the Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, last Friday when Palestinians prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque clashed with Israeli forces, resulting in the death of four Palestinians and over 200 injuries.
The clashes were triggered by the provocative visit by Israeli right-wing opposition Likud party leader Ariel Sharon to Al-Aqsa Mosque, holy to Muslims, on the Temple Mount last Thursday.
A statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry Thursday night said the measure had been planned to go in effect for Yom Kippur on Sunday, but that it was decided to advance it "to lessen the potential for friction and violence."
Israel deployed heavy security forces in certain possible flashpoints, particularly in Jerusalem, after Hamas warned in a statement on Thursday that "Friday will be a day of distinct escalation and clashes."
Marwan Barghouteh, the leader of the Fatah, the mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said his movement has similarly called for demonstrations "to commemorate the one week after the Al-Aqsa massacre."
He said Fatah will continue demonstrating until Palestinian demands are met.
West Bank Preventive Security Service chief Jibril Rajoub also urged Israel to refrain from shooting at Palestinian demonstrators.
There were a remarkable decrease in the number of clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Thursday as compared to that in the past seven days following a verbal agreement between the two sides on a ceasefire and the Israeli pullback of tanks from the clash areas.
However, there were several skirmishes on Thursday afternoon, during which at least two Palestinians were killed and 11 injured.
Barak on Thursday vowed again to make an all-out effort to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians in the coming weeks and called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to take measures to stop the violence on the Palestinian side.
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