A closure will be implemented on the West Bank over Purim from Monday to Wednesday, as tensions continue to rise after a series of terrorist attacks and IDF raids and ahead of the month of Ramadan which is set to begin at the end of March.
The closure will begin on Monday at 5 p.m. and continue until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. During the closure, commercial crossings will remain open and humanitarian and exceptional cases will be allowed through crossings as well with permission from COGAT.
Last year was the first year in five years in which a closure was not implemented on the West Bank.
On Sunday, the commander of the IDF's Central Command, Yehuda Fuchs, met with leaders of cities and regional councils in the West Bank to hold a situation assessment. Fuchs stressed the severity of the "nationalistic crimes" that took place recently, noting that these attacks needed to be clearly condemned.
Shortly before the meeting between the IDF and the settlement leaders was published, a number of settlement leaders including Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz and Ariel mayor Eliyahu Shaviro, signed a letter calling for the government to take stronger action in the West Bank and calling on residents "not to take the law into their own hands."
"We demand and implore the Israeli government to act as soon as possible to guarantee the safety and lives of the settlers in Judea and Samaria and in all parts of the country. It is necessary to return the checkpoints, launch a determined military operation and restore deterrence," said the local leaders.
The leaders also addressed local residents, stating "the blood is boiling and the voice of the blood of our good sons is crying out to us from the land of Israel," but adding "let the IDF win, don't take the law into your own hands."
Additionally on Sunday, signs reading "the intifada is already here" and "the Jews overcame their enemies" (a quote from the end of the Book of Esther) were put up in the northern West Bank, including in the Palestinian town of Huwara, where settlers torched dozens of homes and vehicles last week after two Israelis were murdered in a terrorist attack in the town.
The activists who put up the signs told Army Radio that "It's time for the country to wake up before the situation gets worse."
On Saturday night, Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas's foreign political bureau, warned that the region is "on the verge of heated days" of violence and that the situation will escalate during Ramadan.
"Things are going to escalate in Ramadan, and we are on the verge of hot days due to the continued aggression and crimes of the occupation, and the Palestinian people know that there is no recovery for the homeland except through resistance in all its forms," said Mashaal.
"Things are going to escalate in Ramadan, and we are on the verge of hot days due to the continued aggression and crimes of the occupation, and the Palestinian people know that there is no recovery for the homeland except through resistance in all its forms."
Khaled Mashaal
The Hamas official stressed that "peace cannot be achieved without resistance, and it will not last without a force to protect it," calling on the various Palestinian factions to unite.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions rise ahead of Ramadan
Mashaal's statements come amid a wave of terrorist attacks and rising tensions ahead of the month of Ramadan, which is set to begin at the end of March. Three Israelis were murdered in two terrorist attacks last week.
On Sunday, Palestinian prisoner movements announced that they would "escalate" their protest measures against recent measures implemented in the prisons by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, including refusing to undergo daily security checks. The prisoners are also planning to launch a hunger strike at the beginning of Ramadan.
Will Palestinians confront Jewish Israelis on the Temple Mount on Purim?
As Temple Mount activists called for Jews to visit the Temple Mount on Purim and Shushan Purim, marked from Monday night to Wednesday evening this week, Palestinian factions called for Palestinians to confront Jewish visitors.
"We call on our people in Jerusalem to make Tuesday, Wednesday, and all the days set by the occupation to attack al-Aqsa, days for mobilizing and tightening the bond to al-Aqsa to thwart the settlers’ incursions during the upcoming Jewish holidays," said Hamas's spokesperson for Jerusalem, Muhammad Hamada.
The Temple Mount is open to Jewish visitors Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
On Sunday, Jordan's Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places Minister Mohamed al-Khalayleh stressed that Jordan would not allow "any division or change in the status quo" on the Temple Mount.
"Jordan, which offered martyrs and great sacrifices in defense of Palestine and Jerusalem in 1948 and 1967, will spare no effort in continuing to carry the trust in defending the Arabism and Islamism of Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem)," said Khalayleh, according to Petra news. "Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty the King, has always confronted attempts aimed at undermining al-Aqsa Mosque and imposing control over it."
The Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip, Mohammed al-Emadi is reportedly set to arrive in Israel on Sunday night to speak with Israeli officials, before heading to Gaza in an attempt to lower tensions and prevent an escalation. Emadi was originally supposed to visit last week, but that visit was postponed at the last minute.
Additionally on Sunday, signs reading "the intifada is already here" and "the Jews overcame their enemies" (a quote from the end of the Book of Esther) were put up in the northern West Bank, including in the Palestinian town of Huwara, where settlers torched dozens of homes and vehicles last week after two Israelis were murdered in a terrorist attack in the town.
"It's time for the country to wake up before the situation gets worse."
Israeli activists
The activists who put up the signs told Army Radio that "It's time for the country to wake up before the situation gets worse."