Israel closes Rafah crossing, the Jordan valley

The Israeli occupation forces have closed the crossings in Rafah on the borders with Egypt and the Jordan river crossing between the West Bank and Jordan as from Monday evening.

A spokesman for the Israeli occupation army said that the Palestinian International airport in Gaza was closed in the first Israeli reaction to Natania explosion which resulted in wounding some 45 Israelis.

The Israeli TV announced that the Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak who presided over a special meeting for its cabinet on Monday evening following three explosions in Natania to the north of Tel Aviv gave his instructions to close Gaza airport and the crossing of Rafah and the Jordan river and banned the Palestinians from moving through these crossing.

These new Israeli measures came to tighten the military and economic siege imposed by the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinians since the eruption of al-Aqsa Intifada on September 28, 2000.