The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have announced the closure of all points of access out of and into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The Israeli army said in a statement the blockade will be in effect as of Sunday evening April 9 and lifted on Monday evening April 17.
Palestinian citizens will be denied access into Israel (Palestinian territories occupied in 1948) and their workplaces in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The IOA regularly closes off access to the occupied territories for Palestinians during major Jewish festivals.
Thousands of Israeli settlers flock to Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam—during the seven-day holiday of Passover which commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times.
