Israel cancels entry permits to Gazans after rocket fire
IDF decides not to allow 500 Palestinians to enter Israel from Gaza in order to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan after rocket falls near Erez crossing.
Israel decided on Wednesday to revoke entry permits to Gaza worshipers seeking to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque over the holy month of Ramadan after a rocket fired from Gaza at southern Israel the previous day landed not far from the Erez border crossing.
Palestinian news agency Ma'an quoted the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) as saying the 500 men and women scheduled to leave the Strip on Thursday and Friday will not be allowed to travel because "the security conditions around the crossing aren’t stable."
A spokeswoman for COGAT told AFP the move to cancel part of its measures easing restrictions on Palestinians during the holy Muslim month Ramadan applied to this week only and was "because of the rocket."
"Hamas is responsible for depriving worshipers of prayer in Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan," Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai told Ma'an. "I am not saying that Hamas fired the missile, but Hamas is responsible because it controls the Gaza Strip."
A Salafist group sympathetic to the Islamic State group, the "Omar Brigades," has claimed responsibility for the recent sporadic rocket fire into Israel, including the one that was fired on Tuesday night. The IDF has been responding to their attacks by striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel also revoked entry permits issued to residents of the West Bank village from which originates the perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Traditionally, Israel has been easing restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as a gesture for the holy month of Ramadan, including giving allowances for Palestinians living abroad to enter Israel through Ben-Gurion Airport to visit family in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as passes for Palestinians in the territory to visit family abroad.
Israel decided to allow up to 800 Gazans to pray in Jerusalem during Ramadan each weekend. Palestinian worshipers were also given access to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount via direct bus routes from Ramallah and Bethlehem.
