Palestinians Banned From Entering Israel

11/02/2003| IslamWeb

Israel clamped a total closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday, banning all Palestinians from entering Israel, citing warnings of Palestinian attacks. Earlier Monday, Israeli occupation troops killed two suspected Palestinian resistance men, including an unarmed fugitive, and caught a would-be bomber who hid an explosives-laden suitcase in a hotel.

War Minister Shaul Mofaz canceled measures aimed at easing restrictions during the Muslim feast of the sacrifice holiday this week, the ministry said. Quoting unidentified occupation army sources, Occupation Army Radio said there were reports that resistance groups intend to carry out attacks in the coming days.

Total closures are infrequent, though Israel has severely restricted access for Palestinians to Israel throughout 28 months of Palestinian resistance to occupation.

The occupation army had said it would ease restrictions for workers to enter Israel and would allow Palestinians over age 45 to pray at a hotly disputed holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem during the holiday.

The restrictions have severely hurt the Palestinian economy and Palestinian morale since the restrictions were imposed shortly after the Aqsa Intifadha erupted in September 2000.

Before that, more than 100,000 Palestinians used to cross into Israel to work every day, a vital source of income for the impoverished territories. About 20,000 Palestinians now have permits to work in Israel, but in times of total closures, even those with permits must stay home.

Palestinians contend the measures are collective punishment that harms the innocent; Israel maintains they are necessary for security. During the current conflict, more than 80 Palestinian bombers have killed more than 300 Israelis.

In Monday's violence, a Palestinian fugitive, Imad Mabruk, jumped from the roof of his home in the al-Ain refugee camp near Nablus to the roof of a nearby building to escape occupation soldiers who called on him to surrender, said his cousin, Yousef Mabruk.

Mabruk hid on the roof for several hours and at about 5 a.m. gunshots were heard. Shortly after the occupation soldiers left, the family found Mabruk's body, riddled with gunshot wounds, on the roof, Yousef Mabruk said.

Imad Mabruk was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction.

Also in the West Bank, occupation troops arrested a Palestinian who the occupation army said was planning to carry out a suicide attack in Israel. A suitcase with 44 pounds of explosives was found in a hotel in the town of Ramallah where the accused bomber was hiding, the occupation army said.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces stationed near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim shot and killed a Palestinian carrying an assault rifle and hand grenades, the occupation army said.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli explosive expert checks the wreck of a Palestinian car that blew up outside an Israeli occupation army post near the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip Sunday, Feb. 9, 2003. (AP Photo/Gadi