Hamas Palestinian resistance movement shut the crossing between the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories held by Zionist authorities on Sunday after blaming Tel Aviv for the assassination of one of its officials in the Palestinian enclave.
A statement from the interior ministry in Gaza said it was shutting the so-called Erez crossing for an indefinite period as it investigates the murder which took place on Friday.
Hamas officials have blamed Israeli intelligence agency Mossad for the killing of Mazen Faqha, 38, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
As in all crimes committed against resistance leaders in the region, the Zionist entity has not commented on the shooting.
According to Israeli media, Faqha was responsible for cells of Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Zionist authorities arrested Faqha and sentenced him to prison over attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis during the second intifada, or uprising, between 2000 and 2005.
He was released in 2011 along with more than 1,000 other Palestinians in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier Hamas had captured for five years, and transferred to Gaza.
Tel Aviv did not immediately comment in detail on Sunday’s closure but said its side of the crossing remained open.
The Erez crossing is the only one between Gaza and the occupied territories for people. Another crossing, Kerem Shalom, is used for goods.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade. Gaza’s sole crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.
Source: Agencies
