The Israeli occupation army on Monday announced its decisionto close the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip and reducethe permissible fishing areas in the Gaza Sea as punitive measures for rocketcounterattacks on Israeli areas.
Kamil Abu Rukun coordinator of the Israeli government activitiesin the occupied territories said the Erez crossing would be closed until afurther announcement according to Israeli news reports.
He added that the fishing areas off the coast of Gaza wouldalso be decreased to “six nautical miles” and all Gazan businessmen would bedenied entry to Israel.
The Israeli steps came following Palestinian rocketcounterattacks from Gaza on Israeli areas.
Israeli air raids on Gaza continued intensely throughout theafternoon and evening of Monday targeting civilian and resistance structuresand areas. The Israeli occupation army claimed its attacks on Gaza were inresponse to persistent rocket fire by the Palestinian resistance.
However the military escalation started after Israeliforces brutally killed a Palestinian citizen desecrated his body and injuredothers inside a Gaza border area on Sunday.
An Israeli overnight air raid on Damascus on Sunday night alsoclaimed the lives of two Palestinians affiliated with the Islamic JihadMovement.
Such Israeli crimes provoked the Palestinian resistance tolaunch counterattacks on Israeli settlements and military targets.
