Israel shuts West Bank borders again

Israel has decided to seal off West Bank border crossings from midnight Saturday until midnight Tuesday.

The Israeli army announced on Saturday that the third closure of the past few weeks would be implemented in a region of the West Bank for the duration of this week’s Israeli holidays, the Maan news agency reported.

On Tuesday at midnight the closure will be lifted “in accordance with security assessments,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

Toward the end of March and in the first week of April, Israeli authorities closed all the borders of the West Bank for the Passover and Easter holidays, which are usually celebrated for seven to eight days.

The closure sparked demonstrations by Palestinians in Beit Lehm (Bethlehem), al-Khalil (Hebron), and other towns.

At that time, Palestinian political analyst Haldar Eld told Press TV that Palestinians believe the Jewish holidays are only an excuse for Israel to make life harder for the Palestinians.

“I think this is consistent with Israel’s policies, which have been practiced against the Palestinian people since 1948,” he said.