Israel seals off West Bank for Jewish holiday

Tel Aviv - The Israeli military announced it had shut key military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank and around Jerusalem for the coming four days, starting Friday. The move aims at preventing potential Palestinian militants from reaching Israeli cities or Jewish settlements and carrying out attacks during the Jewish holiday of Purim.

A military statement said the "general closure" began at midnight Thursday and would be in place until Monday night.

No Palestinian workers would be allowed to enter Israel, although there would be exceptions for medical personnel, NGO members, lawyers, religious workers and journalists, provided they used checkpoints.

Many Palestinians work in Israel's construction industry.

Sealing off the West Bank for the duration of Jewish holidays has become a habit since a wave of deadly suicide bombings in Israeli cities, which peaked in 2002.

The Purim holiday starts at nightfall Saturday and ends at sunset Sunday. However, many towns and cities organize parades on Friday. Schools and kindergarten also have costume parties.

The holiday marks the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to annihilate them when they lived in exile in the ancient Persian Empire. The story is recorded in the biblical Book of Esther.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311420,israel-seals-off-west-bank-for-jewish-holiday.html.