Israel shut down the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the wake of a terrorist attack on the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem.
The closure was launched at 1 am Friday, just hours after a killer walked into the cafeteria of the yeshiva on Jerusalem’s western outskirts and opened fire, killing eight students, aged 15-26, before being killed in retaliatory fire.
Police also limited access to the Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City to women and men aged 45 or over bearing identity cards from within Israel. Thousands of police were deployed throughout Jerusalem.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.