GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel has barred entry to thousands of Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip following an eruption of violent protests that have escalated tensions along the volatile frontier.
The string of protests — disrupting weeks of calm at the separation fence — comes during a sensitive holiday season in Israel that began with the Jewish new year last week and continues through the Sukkot festival next week.
During Sukkot, large numbers of Jews are expected to visit Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The compound, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is often a focal point for violence.
Over the last week, dozens of Palestinians — burning tires and hurling explosive devices at Israeli soldiers — have streamed toward the fence separating Israel from Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent the ruling Hamas militant group from arming itself.
Hamas says youths have organized the protests in response to Israeli provocations. The militant group cites an increase in visits by nationalist Jewish activists to the contested Jerusalem holy site. “As long as these provocations continue, the protests will continue,” said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasem.
Under longstanding arrangements, Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the holy site. The large numbers of visits, along with scenes of some visitors quietly praying, have raised Palestinian fears that Israel is trying to divide or even take over the site.
The week’s events recall a bloody protest campaign organized by Hamas in 2018 and 2019 during which over 350 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. Those protests halted after mediators, including Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, brokered an unofficial deal in which Israel eased some economic restrictions on Gaza and allowed Qatar to deliver tens of millions of dollars in monthly payments for needy…
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