GAZA CITY
Israel has reopened on Tuesday two border crossings with the Gaza Strip after two days of closure, Palestinian border authority has said.
Israeli authorities have reopened Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings for commercial and individuals' movements respectively, head of the Palestinian Borders Authority Nazmi Mehanna told Anadolu Agency.
Israeli authorities will allow the entrance of quantities of diesel fuel, gasoline and cooking gas as well as 300 trucks loaded with agricultural and commercial goods, Raed Fattouh, a liaison officer at the crossing, told AA.
Israel closed off Kerem Shalom – the Gaza Strip's only functioning commercial terminal – and Erez, used for individuals' movement, on Sunday, citing security reasons one day after a rocket was launched on southern Israel from the blockaded Palestinian territory.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, the second of its kind since Palestinian factions and Israel signed a permanent cease-fire agreement on August 26 through indirect talks hosted by Cairo.
The rocket launching came amid heightened tension after Israel closed off Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third Muslim holy site, to all worshippers for the first time since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
The closure, which lasted for several hours last week, came after a rabbi was seriously injured in a shooting in Jerusalem. Israeli forces then killed a Palestinian man, suspected of having carried out the attack, during a raid on his East Jerusalem home.
Blockaded by Israel – by air, land and sea – since 2007, the Gaza Strip has seven border crossings linking it to the outside world.
Six of these crossings are controlled by Israel, while the seventh – the Rafah crossing – is controlled by Egypt, which keeps it tightly sealed for the most part.
Israel sealed four of its commercial crossings with Gaza in June 2007 after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas wrested control of the coastal territory from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
As it currently stands, Israeli authorities allow the Kerem Shalom crossing – which links Gaza to both Israel and Egypt – to operate for commercial purposes.
The recent truce deal between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza called for reopening the strip's border crossings with Israel, which, if implemented, would effectively end the latter's seven-year blockade of the territory.
This, however, has yet to be implemented.
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