’Israel’ to Close off West Bank, Gaza Strip

Local Editor

The "Israeli" apartheid entity plans to close off all entry points to the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip ahead of the Jewish Passover holiday.

According to the "Israeli" army, the crossings to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be sealed off on Friday and Saturday, the days of the so-called Passover holiday, over security concerns.

The decision on the blockades was made after "an evaluation of the security situation," an "Israeli" military spokesperson said without elaborating.

The "Israeli" decision to block pathways comes as a move to bar Palestinians from the al-Aqsa Mosque in August 2015 caused a major outcry on the part of the Palestinians.

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also said that security measures will be tightened ahead of the holiday.

In a different development, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki announced on Thursday that the Palestinians support a French initiative to hold an international conference in May in an effort to revive the long-delayed Palestinian crisis.

Maliki said Palestinian and French leaders agreed during meetings in Paris a few days ago that the French initiative should move ahead and not be jeopardized "in any way" by Palestinian efforts to get the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that would condemn continued "Israeli" settlement construction as an obstacle to peace.

In his Thursday remarks, Maliki said, "The opportunity to go to the Security Council will always be there and we want to give a chance to the French initiative because, in the end, this is an initiative that serves us and not one that hurts us."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior "Israeli" official also said France's Ambassador to UN Francois Delattre informed his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Mansour, of the problems involved in promoting a Security Council resolution against the settlements at this time.

The issue also was raised in a meeting between French President Francois Hollande and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris last week on Friday, when Abbas voiced support for the French initiative to convene the international meeting in May.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team