Israel reopens Gaza border crossing amid ongoing riots
Israel has reopened a key crossing with the Gaza Strip for Palestinian workers despite rioting on the border. Israelis and Palestinians have confirmed the reopening of pedestrian crossing.
On Thursday, Israel said it reopened the Gaza border crossing for Palestinian workers. Israel Defence Forces’ coordinator for the Palestinian territories said on Wednesday that the Gaza border crossing would be reopened.
Israel closed the pedestrian crossing during violent protests two weeks ago. Israelis and Palestinians fought against each other during rioting on the border.
Gaza border crossing
The Erez crossing is a main border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The Erez Crossing, also known as the Beit Hanoun Crossing, is located between Israel’s Erez and the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun. Palestinian workers only use Erez crossing to visit the Gaza Strip.
Initially, Israel closed the key Gaza crossing for the Jewish New Year holiday on September 15. However, the Israeli authorities had to extend the closure because of violence at the crossing. The recent violence led to the killing of several protesters at the crossing.
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The Palestinian civilian affairs ministry said that Palestinian workers were allowed to go to the Gaza Strip following the reopening of the crossing.
The crossing can be closed again during the Sukkot holiday.
Conflict between Israelis and Palestinians
Meanwhile, 6 Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed in shootings. The three men and two women were killed in Basmat Tabun in the Northern District of Israel.
The Gaza Strip had witnessed violent protests in the past two weeks over the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Protesters burned tyres and threw petrol bombs at Israeli forces. Subsequently, Israel fired tear gas and live bullets at protesters.
Israeli officials also targeted military sites of the Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip.