Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israel tightens security, shuts Judea and Samaria, Gaza crossings for election day

The closures went into effect at 12:01 a.m. and will continue until 11:59 p.m., barring unforeseen security developments, according to the Israeli military.

The Erez Crossing, in Beit Hanun, between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 4, 2022. Photo by Attia Muhammed/Flash90.
The Erez Crossing, in Beit Hanun, between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 4, 2022. Photo by Attia Muhammed/Flash90.

Israel has implemented additional security measures for Tuesday’s national election, including a general closure of crossings in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

The decision, made during a situation assessment by the defense establishment, comes in the wake of a series of terror attacks across Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank.

The closures went into effect at 12:01 a.m. local time and will continue until 11:59 p.m., barring any unforeseen security developments, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

There will also be no passage for journalists through the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza on Tuesday, with passage resuming on Wednesday in line with regular hours, according to a statement from the Government Press Office.

Five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a terror attack in the Jordan Valley, south of Jericho, on Sunday.

On Saturday night, a 50-year-old Israeli civilian was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist at the entrance to Kiryat Arba.

The shooter, Muhammad al-Jabari, was shot dead by security forces at the scene.

“It is disturbing to see some corners of our justice system treat the life of a Jewish American as worth so little,” Alyza Lewin, president of U.S. affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, told JNS.
“We are more scared than ever,” Jewish activist Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi told JNS. “Despite the overall reduction in the number of instances, the severity of instances is terrifying.”
“I was eventually told by the police that there’s not much that they could do and the case would ultimately get thrown out,” Nir Golan told a public inquiry of the 2023 attack.
The analysis found that Cole Allen, who faces multiple felony charges for the April 25 attack, had “multiple social and political grievances” and cited his social media posts criticizing the war.
A spokesman for the New York City Economic Development Corporation told JNS that a Japan page was also taken down.
The incident occurred as America continues its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.