The Israeli army on Saturday morning closed all barriers and iron gates it has erected in various areas of the occupied West Bank just as Israel and the US launched their attack on Iran.
The Israeli government's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the body overseeing Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel had decided to close all crossings in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing, until further notice.
The statement added that the decision applies to all Palestinians except those with "essential worker permits", and that these permits would be issued through specific crossings.
Cogat claimed that the closure of the crossings in Gaza wouldn’t affect the humanitarian situation in the Strip.
In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians were stranded at the closed barriers and iron gates until late into the night, with some forced to sleep in their vehicles or at relatives' homes.
