Israel restricts travel for Muslim holiday

Israel has sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip to restrict travel for Palestinians celebrating the first day of the Muslim…

Israel has sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip to restrict travel for Palestinians celebrating the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

The Israeli closure of Palestinian territories prevents Palestinians from travelling within the West Bank and Gaza and bars them from Israel until Friday, depriving many of the chance to visit relatives and friends over the four-day Muslim feast.

The new measures reverse an earlier decision to ease conditions for Palestinians over the holiday.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretzreported the move was taken after Israel's domestic security service, Shin Bet, said it had received 48 warnings that Palestinian militants were planning suicide attacks against Israeli targets.

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Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man in the Gaza Strip they claimed entered an off-limits area near an army post on the border between Gaza and Israel. A spokesman claimed a rifle and hand grenades were found near the body.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces killed an unarmed Palestinian in the West Bank yesterday during what the army said was an attempt to capture him. A Palestinian gunman was also shot dead near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

In other West Bank operations yesterday, Israeli soldiers detained three alleged Palestinian suicide-bombers.