Israel closes crossings to Palestinian territories during Nat´l holidays

Israel's military said on Tuesday that it has imposed a three-day closure on the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the country's Memorial Day and Independence Day, reported Xinhua.

All the crossings between the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel were closed off on Tuesday at 15:00 (1200 GMT), an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua. The closure is scheduled to be lifted at midnight between Thursday and Friday (2100 GMT), "subjected to the situational assessment," the spokesperson added in a statement.

Palestinians will not be allowed to enter Israel during the closure, according to the statement.

"Crossings into Israel will be open for Palestinians on a humanitarian basis, in special circumstances or for medical reasons only," the statement read.

This year, the measure comes amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel, fatal Israeli raids in the West Bank, and clashes at Jerusalem's flashpoint holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound between Palestinian youths and Israeli police.

Israeli Memorial Day begins this year on Tuesday evening, and Independence Day begins at sundown on Wednesday.