Israel sets 3 day West Bank closure after Palestinian attack

The two attackers were arrested at the scene of the shooting however Tel Aviv has chose to seal the West Bank.

An army spokeswoman told AFP that crossings to Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be closed for Palestinians in all but “medical and humanitarian cases”.

The foreign minister made the remarks after the Israeli army announced it was temporarily barring Palestinians from entering Israel, stepping up tough restrictions announced after Palestinian gunmen shot dead four Israelis in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Other Israeli measures include the suspension of 204 work permits of individuals in the alleged attackers’ extended families and the sealing off of their entire home town by Israeli security forces, she added.

Thousands of Israeli police officers and border police guards were deployed throughout the city, specially focusing on the East Jerusalem areas inhabited mostly by the Palestinians, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over the last eight months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and auto ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans.

Israel’s decision to bar Palestinians from entering its territory following the Tel Aviv attack could raise tensions and lead to more violence, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned today.

A closure is often imposed over Jewish holidays, when large numbers of Israelis congregate to pray or celebrate, presenting a potential target for Palestinian attacks.

Later in the day, a Palestinian tried to stab soldiers in the West Bank who opened fire and wounded him, the military said. The Palestinian was evacuated to hospital for treatment, it said.

The start of April’s Passover festival saw this type of shutdown. “However the measures taken against the broader population punish not the perpetrators of the crime, but tens-and maybe hundreds-of thousands of innocent Palestinians”, Shamdasani said.

The violence has declined in recent weeks, though attacks have continued.