IDF Shuts Crossings for Purim
The Fellowship | February 26, 2018
As the Jewish people prepare to celebrate Purim – the most joyous Jewish holiday – later this week, the Israeli military is taking measures to keep the Israeli people safe and secure. The Jerusalem Post's Anna Ahronheim reports that the IDF is imposing a four-day closure on the West Bank and Gaza during the festival:
The army usually imposes a closure on the West Bank prior to all major Jewish holidays. Closures have not historically been imposed over Purim, however, this is the third year in a row for a Purim closure.
An uptick in tensions and violence have often occurred during holidays. Several terrorist attacks have been launched during Purim, including a deadly suicide bombing in 1996, in which a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center and killed 13 Israelis, including five children, and wounded 130 more.
In 2015, Israel's Shin Bet security service broke up a Hamas cell that was planning terrorist attacks against IDF targets in Abu Dis near Jerusalem on Purim…