Israel has instituted a porous closure on parts of Judea and Samaria and Gaza in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks during the Purim holiday.
The general closure began at midnight Thursday and will continue throughout the Purim holiday, ending Monday. Purim is celebrated in most of the country on Sunday, and on Monday in Jerusalem and other cities encircled by walls in ancient times.
The closure will be porous. An IDF spokesman said that those in need of humanitarian aid will be allowed to pass through the checkpoints. Doctors, medical personnel, lawyers, non-profit organization members and additional professional groups will also be authorized to pass through by the District Coordination and Liaison offices.
Moreover, the passage of goods will continue at full capacity at the border crossings throughout the period.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the partial closure, which is customary for all Jewish holidays, in light of concrete warnings of terrorist attacks in the upcoming days.
Police have also increased their level of alert in preparation for the Purim holiday. There will be more police officers guarding community centers, markets and other public centers, which are expected to be unusually crowded due to the holiday.
In addition, police officers will carry out special operations in the next few days against vendors selling dangerous toys to children.
“The IDF regards the holiday period as a highly sensitive time, security-wise,” said the army spokesman.
While police increase security in Jewish towns, the army continues to fight terrorism in Arab towns in Judea and Samaria. IDF soldiers have been arresting dozens of terrorists, and this week eliminated the head of Islamic Jihad in Jenin.
Iran provides generous financial backing to Hizbullah, which then channels funds to Islamic Jihad and, more recently, to Hamas, the terror organization which controls the Palestinian Authority legislature.
More than 100 Hamas terrorists crossed the Gaza border into Egypt in recent weeks and traveled to Iran and Syria, where they attended advanced terrorist training camps. Both Iran and Syria have increased their involvement in terrorist activity in the region, offering increased technical, military and financial support to Palestinian Authority terrorists for attacks against Israel.
Intelligence reports indicate that Iran and Syria are working hard to increase the terror infrastructure in Gaza.