A ban on residents of the Gaza Strip entering Israel was lifted Sunday morning, 48 hours after it was imposed.
The ban was ordered after an Arab man from the Gaza Strip, wielding a scimitar, killed two Israelis in Jaffa and wounded 20 others last week before being shot to death.
The Israel Defense Force said the ban was intended to keep Gaza Arabs away from the wrathful Jews. But it led to a sharp escalation of violence in the territory, which gave the Israeli authorities second thoughts.
The IDF reported about 20 Gaza residents were wounded in clashes with soldiers over the weekend.
Three gasoline bombs were thrown at an army patrol in the Mughazi refugee camp Saturday. Violent demonstrations took place Friday in downtown Gaza.
After security experts decided that closure of the strip would boomerang, the ban was lifted early Sunday, allowing tens of thousands of Gaza workers to go to their jobs in Israel.
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