Israel extends closure on West Bank, Gaza after jailbreak incident

Israeli soldiers guard the security fence near the West Bank city of Jenin, on Sept. 8, 2021. Israel's army said Wednesday it was extending the closure on the West Bank and Gaza due to a manhunt for six Palestinian escapees who tunneled their way out of jail on Monday. (Photo by Gil Eliyahu /JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel's army said Wednesday it was extending the closure on the West Bank and Gaza due to a manhunt for six Palestinian escapees who tunneled their way out of jail on Monday.

"In an effort to locate the escaped prisoners, it has been decided to extend the general closure," an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.

It said the closure, originally planned to end on Wednesday at midnight, now will continue until Saturday night. Lifting the closure will be "subject to a situational assessment," the statement read.

The crossings for the transfer of goods into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will open as planned on Wednesday. However, all of the other crossings will remain closed and Palestinians could pass through them only "under special or medical circumstances and on a humanitarian basis."

The closure has been imposed on Monday afternoon, right before the Jewish New Year.

Israel considers the main Jewish holidays as prone to attacks by Palestinian militants and regularly closes off the occupied territories during these times. Enditem