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Only hours after imposing a partial closure on Ramallah as part of its fight on Palestinian terrorism, the IDF re-opened all roads.
The IDF re-enabled access to the Palestinian city of Ramallah late Monday after only hours after imposing a rare, day-long partial closure of surrounding roads following a Palestinian shooting attack on Israeli soldiers the day before.
Citing a “situation assessment,” the military said crossings to and from Ramallah have returned to normal.
Ramallah is the seat of the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority (PA) and is a commercial center, drawing workers from around the area.
“Internal closures” were common during the second Intifada that ended a decade ago, but have rarely been used in recent years. Early Monday, the military blocked access to Ramallah to all but city residents, and only residents of other towns and humanitarian cases were allowed to leave.
The move came a day after a Palestinian policeman who served as a bodyguard for the Palestinian attorney general opened fire at a checkpoint near the city, wounding three soldiers.
Despite the measure, a row of about 100 cars queued at a checkpoint that was closed in the morning could be seen streaming through. A main road out of the city, which had been closed earlier, was later opened.
Palestinians claimed the partial closure was collective punishment for the act of one individual.
“They shouldn’t punish the entire governorate of Ramallah for a policeman who carried out an attack,” said Palestinian police spokesman Adnan Damiri.
Israel is struggling to contain the wave of near-daily Palestinian attacks, which began in Jerusalem in mid-September and later spread to cities across Israel. Israel has beefed up security, sending troops to patrol its cities and erecting checkpoints in Arab areas of Jerusalem.
The wave of violence has claimed the lives of 29 victims.
Terrorist Receives Hero’s Burial
In the meantime, thousands of Palestinians gathered in Shechem (Nablus) on Monday to pay respects to Amjad Sakari, the policeman-turned-terrorist. The 34-year-old policeman shot at Israeli troops at a checkpoint near Beit El before he was fatally shot by troops Sunday.
Among the mourners was Shechem governor Akram Rajoub.
“It doesn’t mean I agree with what he has done,” Rajoub claimed. “I’m against policemen carrying out attacks, but we are people who respect their martyrs and dead.”
The term “martyr” in this context is one of Islamic glorification, used for national heroes and those who have died while waging Jihad, Muslim holy war, against the infidels, meaning Jews or Christians.
Rajoub’s use of this term to describe the terrorist would in fact indicate that he did agree with Sakari’s actions.
By: AP and United with Israel Staff
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