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Israel said Saturday it would close its border crossing to thousands of Gaza workers.
“The reopening of the border crossing will be decided accordingly with a security assessment,” the Israeli military agency, which coordinates civil affairs in Gaza, said in a statement.
In recent months, Israel has issued thousands of work permits to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Israel presented the move as a goodwill gesture, but the approvals also give the country a powerful form of pressure on the Palestinians.
ISRAELI POLICE, PALESTINIANS COME AGAIN AT AL-AQSA MOSQUE IN JERUSALEM UNDER ELEVATED TENSIONS
Israel grants permits to approximately 12,000 Palestinians in Gaza and more than 100,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Palestine called the decision “collective punishment” against the territory’s 2 million inhabitants.
The action comes after rockets were fired from the area ruled by the militant Hamas group.
Palestinians gather for Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hours after Israeli police clashed with protesters at the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israel said Palestinian militants fired two rockets late Friday, and Palestinian media reported that two Gaza residents were injured.
Another rocket was fired from Gaza early Saturday, but the military did not say where it landed and there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The rocket fire came after clashes at a holy site in Jerusalem last week.
Clashes broke out between Israeli police and Palestinians in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday.
VIOLENCE IN GAZA INCREASES DURING STRIKES RESUME IN JERUSALEM
The skirmish began after some local Palestinian youths started throwing stones at the police and setting off firecrackers.
The police responded in full riot gear, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Medical Service said at least 31 Palestinians were injured, including 14 who were taken to hospitals.
Police said one officer was hit in the face by a stone and taken for medical treatment.
Hamas supporters wave green Islamic flags during a rally in solidarity with Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem on the main street of the Jebaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Journalists videotaping themselves posing as members of the press were also shot at and at least three Palestinian reporters were injured by rubber bullets.
Later, after midday prayers, a small group of Palestinians waving Hamas flags marched and tried to break into an empty police post inside the compound.
However, police used a drone to throw tear gas at them.
Israel blames incitement by Hamas for the violence and says its security forces are acting to remove stone-throwers to ensure religious freedom for Jews and Muslims.
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Protesters wave the flags of the Palestinians and Hamas after Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hours after Israeli police clashed with protesters at the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, April 22, 2022 . (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israeli police and Palestinians have clashed frequently there over the past week, despite temporarily keeping Jews away for the final 10 days of Ramadan to avoid any provocation, which is normal practice.
Almost a year after the 11-day Israeli-Palestinian war, the violence has fueled fears of another war between Israel and Hamas.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.