The Israeli military says it is sending additional forces to the area around the Gaza Strip as it braces for possible attacks after the arrest of a senior militant in the West Bank this week.
Authorities closed roads and other areas around Gaza after a raid on Monday night in which troops arrested a senior member of the Islamic Jihad militant group in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin.
A Palestinian teenager, who Islamic Jihad claimed as a member, was killed during clashes with the Israeli forces.
Islamic Jihad, which rejects Israel’s existence and has carried out scores of deadly attacks over the years, said it was going “on alert” and raising its readiness in response.
Gaza has been ruled by the militant group Hamas since it drove out rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza, and the two sides have fought four wars and dozens of smaller battles over the last 15 years.
“The security arrangements that we decided upon are necessary as temporary preparation measures,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said after convening a security meeting on Thursday.
“We will not accept a long-term situation in which terrorist organisations disrupt citizens’ lives”.
Read the article in The Advocate (AAP).