UPDATED ON:
Monday, September 15, 2008
12:19 Mecca time, 09:19 GMT
 
News Middle East
Israel closes Gaza crossings
Sderot has often been the target of rocket
attacks by Palestinian fighters [Reuters]

Israel has closed crossings into Gaza following a rocket attack on the Israeli town of Sderot by Palestinian fighters.

Monday's closures were the first during this Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

The rocket hit an open area in Sderot, starting a fire but causing no casualties.

The attack, the first in nearly three weeks, violates a June ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules Gaza.

No one claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.

Following the incident, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, ordered that the crossings be closed indefinitely.

The move effectively seals off the Gaza Strip which badly needs supplies for its 1.5 million Palestinians.

Hamas denounced the Israeli reaction as an act of "sabotage" against the truce.

Khaled al-Batsh, a leader of the Islamic Jihad, also denounced the closure of the crossings.

He told Al Jazeera the Israeli move was expected and criticised Israel for not observing its part of the ceasefire deal.

"It is a normal, expected action by Israel which disregards its truce commitments - lifting the siege, opening border crossings and halting aggression. None of these conditions have been implemented," he said.

 Source: Agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 7
 
Asa
Israel
15/09/2008
Biased journalism
The actual headline should have been: "Palestinians break truce by firing rocket into Isreali town. In response, Israel closed the Erez crossing". Please, for once, try and depict the events as they actually happened.

Ayub
Afghanistan
16/09/2008
Israel closing Gaza crossings.
History repeats itself as they say:Well,it seems it is repeating itself. Israelis are the Nazis and the Palestinians are the Jews in this modern"civilised"world.Palestinians will have their day,inshAllah.This month of Ramadan may God help the Palestinians who are struggling with day to day necessities no thanks to the new Nazis the Israeli Jews.No thanks to the US either for letting this go on.

Joel French
Canada
16/09/2008
re: Asas comment
Yes, the crossing was closed because of a Palestinian rocket. Because a rocket was fired, Israel decided to continue to collectively punish 1.5 million Gazans, though it is a grave breach of international law. How is that for a headline?

MB
Canada
17/09/2008
To Asa:
Perhaps the 1948 headlines should have been "Palestinians lose there land to legalised invasion." Perhaps the 1967 headlines should have been "Israel breaks UN Convention on Anti-Imperialism by annexing neighboring territory." I'm sick and tired of all the pro-Israel bull out there. The Palestinians only lived in your illegal "State" for 1300 years before a bunch of white men in New York decided to let the Jews establish an apartheid-like system that prohibits Arabs from having political rights

Duned
Poland
15/09/2008
Main condition of cease fire was no more attacks. Rocket was shot from Gaza territory. Cease fire condition has been broken. Palestinian side broke it. That's it. If Hamas wants to have open crossings etc. let first take care to stop all attacks.

Mr. M
Turkey
15/09/2008
Reply to Mr. Asa
Asa A bit like the headlines which should read "Israel breaks International Agreements with blatant Land-Grab" ? A bit over the top that one rocket fired, by persons unknown, should result in all of the Gaza strip being closed - not the kind of behaviour which would endear the general Palestinian populace to the Israeli cause.

Jennifer
United States
18/09/2008
Commet to Asa
May I ask what is biased about this article? You, Asa, who live in Israel, obviously have no idea, or excuse me, choose to be blind to the genocide that is happening to the Palestinian people. I'm sitting here in America and do not believe most of the news that comes from the Israeli-Zionist government. Everyone needs to watch the documentary called the Iron Wall you see Israelis speaking up about what's really going on! Please, open your eyes for once.

 
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