Israel maintained a tight seal around the Gaza Strip on Thursday, keeping the impoverished territory’s borders closed two days after Palestinian militants fired rockets in breach of a truce.
”The Gaza crossings are still closed,” said military spokesperson Peter Lerner, but he added that the Eretz terminal remained open for humanitarian purposes.
The Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement, which rules Gaza, entailed a gradual easing of an embargo Israel imposes on the Palestinian enclave, but this stopped after the latest attacks.
Lerner stressed that the new restrictions were imposed ”in response to the firing of rockets on Tuesday”.
Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attacks that lightly wounded two people in southern Israel, said on Wednesday it would respect the truce.
”We have confirmed to our friends in Hamas that we have decided to respect the ceasefire,” spokesperson Daoud Shihab said in Gaza after talks with the authorities there.
”We will apply the pact on the suspension of attacks if Israel also respects it,” he said.
Asked when supplies would again be allowed into Gaza, Lerner said: ”This will depend on the security situation — there is an ongoing evaluation.”
While the World Bank says the embargo imposed after Hamas seized power one year ago has crippled the Gaza economy, Israel insists it has always allowed in enough supplies — mostly foreign aid — to avoid a humanitarian disaster.
Meanwhile, an Israeli negotiator was set to travel to Egypt on Thursday to press authorities there not to reopen the Rafah border crossing until Gaza militants release Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was captured two years ago.
Rafah, the only Gaza crossing that bypasses Israel, has been closed since 2006, although Egypt has allowed some medical patients to cross the border.
Israeli envoy Ofer Dekel was due to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who played a key role in mediating the truce that went into effect on June 19 in and around the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday — the second anniversary of Shalit’s capture — Hamas insisted once again talks on his release were unrelated to the truce agreement and that he would only be freed in exchange for jailed Palestinians. Hamas has demanded the release of 450 prisoners.
”Under the terms of the prisoner exchange a certain number of Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange for the captive Zionist soldier,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing.
Shalit was captured by Hamas and other militants in a bloody cross-border raid on June 25 2006. — AFP
