Israel has ordered a full closure of the occupied West Bank and of the crossings leading into the Gaza Strip on Monday and Wednesday, to coincide with the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that he had approved an army recommendation for the closure on October 5 and 7, citing a "security situation assessment" and the commemoration of the attacks.
Katz said the West Bank closure would be comprehensive, based on military recommendations and security assessments. Exceptions are limited: cases approved by the Israeli government's coordinator of activities in the Palestinian territories, essential health workers, cases tied to commitments Israel has made before its Supreme Court, and needs related to the "seam zone", the area between the West Bank barrier and the 1967 boundary. The Gaza crossings will also be shut for the two days, adding restrictions on Palestinian movement. The closure coincides with Israeli memorial ceremonies, including one in Jerusalem on Monday for families of those killed in the attacks and the war that followed.
The measures come amid heightened tension in the West Bank, which has seen a sharp rise in violence in the run-up to Israeli elections later this month. On Monday, Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle carrying three Palestinians near Bani Naim, east of Hebron. The Israeli army said the car had rammed one of its vehicles and described a car-ramming attempt; Palestinian officials said one man was killed and two others seriously injured. The Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs named the dead man as 38-year-old Hossam Alaa al-Din Abdul Jabbar Walad Ali and said Israeli forces were withholding his body. Near Ramallah, a Palestinian, Ahmad Mazen Kahla, was critically wounded; the army said one of two suspects, one carrying a knife, was "neutralised by an Israeli civilian". Settlers also attacked Palestinians in the Imriha area southwest of Jenin, injuring three people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
On Sunday, Israeli forces carried out raids and arrests across the territory, detaining 15 Palestinians, including two journalists, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office. Those held include Sami al-Shami, detained in a village south of Nablus, and Raja Jabr, a board member of the journalists' union, detained in Arraba near Jenin. The Israeli army said it arrested dozens of people, including a Hamas member in Nablus, and seized weapons and drones. Journalists covering the olive harvest in Beita, south of Nablus, described coming under fire and being approached by settlers.
The closure matters because it limits the movement of Palestinians, including workers and patients, during a period of already intense violence. A Palestinian commission says 66 Palestinians have been killed in at least 14,742 attacks in the West Bank since October 2023, along with the destruction of more than 147,000 trees, over 100,000 of them olive trees.