Israel Says They're Closing a Gaza Crossing Due to Violent Attacks From Palestinians

Caleb Tolin | July 10, 2018
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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that Israel will be closing the main commercial crossing to and from the Gaza strip due to violent attacks from the Palestinians.

According to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, “Fishing off Gaza coast to be limited; no imports or exports” will pass through the crossing but will allow humanitarian goods to cross on a case-by-case basis.

Flaming kites and helium-filled balloons carrying explosives are setting agricultural lands and forests aflame which is prompting the shut down of the crossing.

"The economy in Gaza is already extremely damaged due to the siege and the various Israeli assaults, but the latest move will worsen the state of the strip to a further extent," Raed Futooh told Al Jazeera.

Maybe, just maybe, if the Palestinians, say, didn’t send bombs and flaming kites into Israel, they might just not have these problems. Just a guess, though.

There are only two other main crosses between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The Erez crossing is for pedestrian traffic and the Rafah crossing allows for the transit of goods and construction materials.

In an official statement, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum wrote “Benjamin Netanyahu's approval of additional measures imposed on the Gaza Strip to further tighten the siege and prevent the entry of goods into the already crippled coastal enclave is a new crime against humanity added to the record of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.”

This is the first of Israel’s unannounced plans to handle the violence in the Gaza area. “As for Gaza, I’ve already told you that I have no intention to prematurely announce all of the steps we are taking ... There will be other steps which I won’t detail,” Netanyahu said.

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