[News] Israel limits civilian traffic around Gaza in fear of Palestinian reprisals

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-israel-limits-civilian-traffic-fear-palestinian-reprisals>
Israel limits civilian traffic around Gaza in fear of Palestinian reprisals
By MEE staff
------------------------------

Israeli army says the risk of retaliatory attacks from besieged enclave is
still high after the arrest of senior Islamic Jihad figure in the West Bank
on Monday

An Israeli police checkpoint in the southern Kibbutz of Yad Mordechai near
the fence separating Gaza from Israel, on 2 August 2022 (AFP)

Published date: 3 August 2022

The Israeli <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> army blocked
roads and halted rail services near Gaza for a second consecutive day on
Wednesday, citing a risk of reprisals following the arrest
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-forces-arrest-senior-islamic-jihad-leader-raid-kills-palestinian-youth>
of a senior Islamic Jihad member.

Bassam al-Saadi was detained on Monday during an Israeli raid in the
occupied West Bank city of Jenin, during which 17-year-old Palestinian
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> Dirar al-Kafrayni was
shot dead by Israeli forces.

Saadi's son-in-law, Ashraf al-Jada, was also arrested in the raid. Saadi's
wife sustained injuries during the arrest and was taken to hospital for
treatment.

Security camera footage of Saadi's arrest showed Israeli soldiers dragging
the 62-year-old along the ground.

תיעוד ממצלמות אבטחה של עסק הממוקם קרוב לביתו של בכיר הג'יהאד האסלאמי בג'נין
השיח בסאם אסעדי. התיעוד מראה איך החיילים מושכים אותו ואף בשלב מסויים נשאו
אותו ככל הנראה בשל ירי שהיה בזירה. היו דיווחים פלסטינים שהוא נפצע קשה בעת
המעצר אך נראה שהיא יצא מהבית על הרגלים. pic.twitter.com/0fWGakrlVp
<https://t.co/0fWGakrlVp>
— Jack khoury.جاك خوري (@KhJacki) August 2, 2022
<https://twitter.com/KhJacki/status/1554263970218901504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

He was also reported to have been injured by an Israeli army dog.

As news of the fatal raid spread, crowds began to gather in Jenin refugee
camp and the nearby city of Nablus, as supporters voiced solidarity with
the highly respected figure. Islamic Jihad, seen as the second most
influential Palestinian armed resistance group behind Hamas, said it has
put its fighters everywhere on alert.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday it was preventing civilian access to areas
near Gaza "due to a direct threat".
Armed resistance

Saadi is the most senior Islamic Jihad figure in the West Bank, where the
armed group has been the main force behind growing armed resistance in
Jenin and Nablus.

A former prisoner long wanted by Israel, Saadi and his family have been a
critical part of the Palestinian resistance movement in Jenin.

Saadi's great uncle, Farhan al-Saadi, led a rebellion against British
authorities in 1936.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/west-bank-resistance-nablus-mourns-dead-fighters-wave-grows>

Nablus mourns dead fighters as West Bank resistance grows

As part of its security measures, Israel also closed its only border
crossing for people entering or leaving Gaza on Tuesday, while the
government said Prime Minister Yair Lapid was reviewing security.

The Israeli army said it deployed reservist troops to assist in keeping
civilians safe.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2007,
which critics say amounts to collective punishment of the enclave's two
million residents.

Israel prevents the importing of materials and equipment into Gaza and has
imposed strict restrictions on exports, leading to a state of "paralysis"
in several sectors of Gaza's economy.

Egypt <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/egypt> also upholds the
siege, controlling movement in and out of Gaza on its border.
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