The Israeli army imposed a total blockade late Tuesday on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, because of celebrations to mark the foundation of the Jewish state, a military spokesman said, quoted by AFP and Israeli press reports.
The spokesman said in a statement that the blockade, which took effect Tuesday night, would be lifted Friday at 2:00 am (2300 GMT).
The blockade, imposed on the Palestinian territories when the Intifada, or uprising, erupted on September 28, had been eased a little, said AFP.
But because of the celebrations, the territories will be sealed off completely, the spokesman said.
He added that Palestinian workers would not be allowed to cross into Israel and that crossing points -- including the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan, and Rafah between the Gaza Strip and Egypt -- would be closed.
The day of remembrance is commemorated from Tuesday night to Wednesday to honor the memory of Israeli soldiers killed in combat and will be followed by celebrations marking the 53rd anniversary of Israel's independence.
ISRAEL'S DEFENSE MINISTER RULES OUT JERICHO FLUTTER FOR ISRAELIS
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer quashed Wednesday any hope Israelis might have had of returning to the tables at the casino in the Palestinian city of Jericho, said Haaretz newspaper.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Tuesday that Israel had decided to ease its blockade on the ancient town of Jericho after receiving Palestinian assurances on security, though the move has not yet been implemented.
At the same time the Jewish state reiterated its ban on Israelis entering areas of the occupied territories under full Palestinian autonomy, including the popular Oasis casino.
"The Palestinians ... can do with the casino whatever they like ... It belongs to them - they can bring people in from wherever they want," Ben Eliezer told Israeli public radio Wednesday.
"But if you come and ask me if as defense minister I am willing to allow Israeli citizens to go into the casino, my answer is no. No with a capital 'N'!."
Before Intifada, the Oasis attracted 2,500 gamblers daily, mainly Israelis.
Palestinians are barred from the facility unless they have a foreign passport.
The casino, run by a consortium of Austrian banks, was badly damaged by Israeli tank fire last year but has now been repaired.
A fund controlled by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has a stake of up to 30 percent in the Oasis.
Several Israelis have violated the ban on travel to the occupied territories since the start of the unrest, some deliberately and others by accident, said AFP.
SHARON: JOINT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TEAM TO INVESTIGATE MORTAR FIRE
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday that a joint Israeli-Palestinian team would investigate the issue of continued mortar fire upon Israeli settlements, reported Haaretz newspaper.
In an interview with Israel Radio, Sharon said that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had called his son Omri on Tuesday night, following the mortar firing on the settlement of Gadid, and notified him that steps had been taken to prevent the firing.
Sharon has recently come under fire by Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, for sending his son to meet with Arafat.
Rubinstein opposes the prime minister’s use of Omri Sharon, claiming that it reeks of forbidden conflicts of interest, said the paper.
However, Sharon insists that his son has “no political or business agenda,” and therefore there is no conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, Sharon said that Israel had important and substantive remarks regarding the Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative, and that he had asked Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to leave for Egypt and Jordan in order to explain Israel’s stance.
The Prime Minister said that Israel’s relations with Egypt were good, and that he was intending on sending a special emissary to Egypt to invite President Hosni Mubarak to Israel.
TWO PALESTINIANS SHOT DEAD TUESDAY BY ISRAELI ARMY IN WEST BANK, GAZA STRIP
two Palestinians were killed Tuesday by the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said reports.
A live bullet hit 24-year-old Iya al-Hirish in the chest during a clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in Qalqilya.
He was listed as dead upon his arrival at the hospital, sources told AFP.
Earlier, Yusef Abu Hamda, 40, was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip near the border with Israel.
Hamda had been shot several times in the chest and the hand about 200 meters (yards) from the Israeli border near Beit Hanun, an area that came under heavy Israeli bombardment last week.
The Palestinian security officials said the army informed them that the man had been caught trying to sneak into Israel. Residents described him as psychologically disturbed, according to AFP.
HAMAS PROMISES MORE TERROR ATTACKS DURING MEMORIAL DAY
At a ceremony held by Hamas Tuesday for its latest suicide bomber, the group warned that more deadly attacks would soon follow, according to a report by The Associated Press, published on The Jerusalem Post online edition.
"Extremist Islamic groups said they were poised to carry out more bombing attacks during Israel's back-to-back observances of Memorial Day and Independence Day," said the AP.
Hamas, which held a memorial rally for the bomber, 18-year-old Imad Zubadi, said recently that 10 of its suicide bombers would strike at Israeli targets. Zubadi was the fourth, and six more were waiting to blow themselves up, local Hamas leader Jamal Salim was quoted as saying.
"Hamas' choice is resistance and military operations, not negotiations and security talks," Salim told a crowd of about 3,000 people in the West Bank town of Nablus.
Israeli police commanders said they would mobilize large numbers of officers in a bid to prevent attacks on Memorial Day, which honors fallen soldiers and runs for 24 hours beginning at sundown, and Independence Day, which begins at sundown tomorrow.
"It is only due to our fallen (soldiers) and their friends that we have reached this far," Sharon said at the main war memorial in Jerusalem, quoted by the the agency.
"Even though our enemies still refuse to recognize the right of the Jewish people to their land, (they) acknowledge our might and resolve."
PALESTINIAN TV CREW DETAINED BY ISRAELI ARMY NEAR NABLUS
Israeli troops stopped for interrogation a Palestinian television crew that reported filmed military vehicles and equipment on the Nablus bypass road this afternoon, said The Post.
After the investigation and a review of the video footage, all but one member of the film crew were released.
The paper said the army "is permitted to designate specific areas as closed military zones and thus prohibit video or still photography in those areas." The press is also forbidden from photographing certain military vehicles and equipment, it added.
The crew's driver remained in detention after it was discovered that he was suspected by the IDF in acts of terror against Israel, Army Radio reported -- Albawaba.com
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