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Israel to close West Bank checkpoints for Passover

April 7, 2017 at 5:38 pm

Palestinians wait to cross the Hawara checkpoint near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus [Apaimages]

Israel will seal off checkpoints and crossing from the occupied West bank and Gaza Strip for a week starting Monday in preparation for the Jewish festival of Passover, the army announced today.

The closure will come into effect at midnight on Monday and continue until midnight on Monday 17 April.

Israeli soldiers shoot and wound an elderly Palestinian man at a checkpoint in Nablus

Only Palestinians with “humanitarian medical and exceptional cases” will be allowed through the crossings during this time.

Israel regularly shuts off the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip stopping Palestinians from entering or exiting the areas. This causes particular harm to the thousands of Palestinians who legally work in Israel every day.