Israel has closed several roads in the north and east of the Gaza Strip since 12:00 local time (10:00 in Lisbon) for security reasons, as it celebrates a Jewish holiday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said today.
The measure, according to the military, is intended to prevent settlers who intend to go to these areas, which are regularly the target of rocket fire by Gaza militiamen, from praying on the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av.
"The agricultural areas between the Erez junction, Yad Mordechai, the Shaar HaNegev junction, the Nativot junction and Nahal Oz will be closed to traffic," the military statement said, referring to the communities located a few kilometres from Gaza's northern and north-eastern borders.
The areas to the east of the devastated enclave, between the kibbutz (farming communities) of Re'im and Urim and the Ma'on crossing, have also been closed.
The armed forces confirmed to EFE that the closures are aimed at preventing settlers from travelling to Gaza's border communities at night, as they intend to hold prayers for the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, which begins tonight and lasts until Tuesday.
In recent days, rocket fire by Palestinian militias into Israeli territory has provoked numerous attacks by the armed forces in Gaza, and the possible gathering near the border for the holiday could provoke further rocket fire from the enclave.
Last Wednesday, the army ordered the evacuation of Beit Hanoun, in the north of the enclave, for the same reason and, more recently, extended its offensive to the hard-hit southern town of Khan Younis, where it has also called for the emptying of neighbourhoods where it has detected rocket fire.
The Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, begins in Israel this evening, a date loaded with symbolism that Iran may also have chosen for an attack on the Hebrew nation and which has been on hold since the assassination in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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