Israel has decided to keep Gaza Strip border crossings closed another day, despite Palestinians' declaration of committing to the calm. Following discussions Wednesday night between Israeli deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai and defense establishment officials, a decision was made not to open the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
The crossings were opened on the day the calm deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect last Thursday, but a decision was made to close them again Tuesday evening, following retaliatory rocket firing by the Jihad movement.
Islamic Jihad fighters fired three rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday, retaliating for an Israeli raid in the West Bank, which killed two Palestinians including a senior Jihad activist. Israel responded by closing the border crossings just three days after it had stepped up shipments of vital supplies into the Hamas-run territory, a major condition for the calm.
Islamic Jihad said it will respect the calm after Hamas demanded it to stop its retaliation.
