Israeli security forces on Monday sealed off the West Bank for the upcoming Sukkot festival, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
The IDF said it regards the week-long holiday, which is also known as the festival of Tabernacles and starts Monday evening, as a highly sensitive time, during which it will be "on higher alert."
Till midnight Oct. 21, the West Bank will be closed, and "the passage of those in need of humanitarian and medical aid, as well as other specific requests" will be allowed with special permits, said the army.
The Jewish state routinely imposes a general closure upon the Palestinian territory during holidays and festivals, including Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year's Day, two weeks ago and Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, last week.
Sukkot is a festival that commemorates the 40 years Jews spent in the desert living in temporary huts in biblical times. Many Israelis build sukkahs, or huts, to live or eat in to mark the holiday.
Source: Xinhua
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