Israeli Soldiers Siege Jericho, Six Days in a Row

Jericho, West Bank, MINA – As of Friday, Israeli soldiers have been under siege for six consecutive days at the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army set up checkpoints and concrete barriers at the main and secondary entrances to the city, stopped vehicles and thoroughly checked each vehicle and passengers’ ID cards leaving the city.

This occurred when Israeli soldiers barged into the city and the entrance of the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, southwest of the city, and rained tear gas on Palestinian youths at the entrance.

Residents and tourists wishing to Jordan had to go through Jericho to reach the Allenby/King Hussein/Karama bridge crossing, complaining of lengthy delays and exhaustive searches of army checkpoints at all city entrances.

The Israeli army imposed a siege last week, following an attempted shooting at a restaurant outside the city, the Israeli army assumed that the Palestinians who carried out the retaliatory attacks against them had fled to Jericho.

After the retaliatory attacks by the Palestinians, Israel has imposed collective punishment on the entire city, which is taking a heavy toll on local residents economically, especially now that many are visiting as Jericho is a popular destination for tourism at home and abroad due to its warm temperatures during the winter. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)