Tel Aviv, Apr. 24, (dpa/GNA) - Israel has shut down its border with the Gaza Strip, following several rocket attacks carried out by militant Palestinians.
On Sunday, the traditional start of the Israeli workweek, the passenger crossing stayed shut, denying thousands of workers and merchants.
“A decision regarding the reopening of the crossing will be made depending on safety considerations,” Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) authority said on Saturday.
The move comes after Palestinian militants fired rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel late on Friday, following a day of fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City.
One rocket landed on Israeli territory, while the second landed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army. A third rocket was launched later, but it was not clear where it landed.
Two people were injured when the rocket went down in Gaza, according to witnesses.
The rocket launches came after numerous people were injured in clashes at the contested Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 57 injured Palestinians on Friday, 14 of whom were hospitalized.
The clashes, which have been flaring up for a week, further escalated tensions following a wave of other deadly attacks in recent weeks.
This week, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets into the Israeli border area for the first time this year. Israel responded with attacks on targets linked to Islamist group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.
Following the latest attacks on Friday, Israel decided to close the border crossing instead of responding with another airstrike.
During the past months, the country had issued thousands of work permits to workers from the Gaza Strip to improve the situation in the impoverished coastal area. Israel tightened a blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
GNA