Israel closes off West Bank and Gaza

ISRAEL yesterday clamped a closure on the West Bank and Gaza, banning virtually all Palestinians from Israel, in its first response to a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis outside a shopping centre.

Israeli officials also pledged painful retaliation for Monday’s suicide bombing by the Islamic Jihad group in the coastal city of Netanya.

“We decided to operate in a much broader, much deeper and more intensive manner against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure, and I hope that we will be able to prevent such attacks in the future,” Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said.