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Israel reopens Gaza border crossings

Israel Materials 4 November 2014 13:21 (UTC +04:00)
Israel has decided to open the border crossings with the Gaza Strip as from Tuesday, lifting a two-day closure it had imposed on the Palestinian enclave
Israel reopens Gaza border crossings

Israel has decided to open the border crossings with the Gaza Strip as from Tuesday, lifting a two-day closure it had imposed on the Palestinian enclave, Xinhua reported.

"All border crossings, including Erez, will be open as usual on Tuesday," a statement of the prime minister's office said.

On Sunday, Israel shut down Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings for pedestrians and goods.

A military spokeswoman told Xinhua that the measure was taken in response to a rocket fired from Gaza toward Eshkol in southern Israel. The rocket fell in an open field, causing no injuries or damage.

It was the second rocket that hit the Jewish state since an August cease-fire agreement that put an end to Israel's 50-day war in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel said Sunday's closure was aimed at sending a message to the Palestinians.

"The measure was a pressure point on Hamas and clarifies to Gaza residents the price of shooting," military officials told the Israeli Ynet news site.

Moussa Abu Marzooq, a senior Hamas official, said the closure was "a clear violation" of the cease-fire agreement.

Israel has imposed a blockade over the Gaza Strip since the Islamist movement Hamas took over the control of Gaza in 2007. Since then, Israel has employed a restricted permit policy to allow people to leave the strip in humanitarian cases and to enable only limited import of essential goods.

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