Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Wednesday morning to close the Gaza Strip to Israeli visitors and declared it a closed military area.

The order effectively closes the strip to non-resident Israelis until the end of the disengagement, as opposed to a temporary closure imposed two weeks ago to allow Israeli security forces to evacuate a hotel where anti-pullout activists had barricaded themselves.

The move is aimed at blunting plans by anti-pullout activists to flood the strip with protesters.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Israeli police began turning away non-resident cars from Kisufim Junction, the main entry point for the Gaza settlements bloc of Gush Katif, local newspaper Haaretz reported.

The settlement council's plan to have tens of thousands of people march to Gush Katif on Monday is seen to have hastened the decision to close the strip to non-residents.

In a meeting of senior Southern Command officers on Tuesday, the planned march and the continuous arrival of right-wing activists to the Gaza Strip made some of the officers believe that the area should be declared a closed military zone.

One of the options considered was a limited closure, similar to the one imposed for about 24 hours two weeks ago.

A second option was a prolonged closure. The Israeli army tends to support this, fearing that extremists' emotions are heating up and might lead to violence. In this case, an order from the prime minister would be required.

Defense sources were quoted by Haaretz as saying on Tuesday that Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz objects to a prolonged closure, saying that would disrupt the residents' everyday life.

But Israel Radio reported Wednesday the closure would be in effect "until the end of the disengagement."

Israel plans to start evacuating all the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank in mid-August.

Source: Xinhua