It said that 83,000 Palestinians would be affected, adding that hundreds of residents of the Gaza Strip who had received permits to visit relatives and holy sites during Ramadan would also have access frozen.
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On Wednesday evening, the two assailants had entered the Max Brenner cafe, ordered drinks and then took out guns and began shooting at the customers. “We are going to take the necessary steps to attack the attackers and to defend those who need to be defended”.
The statement was approved by all 15 members of the Security Council. The authorities in Tel Aviv have declined to provide details on the exact number of troops. She says her husband later arrested the gunman at their home.
An army spokeswoman said crossings to Israel from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip would be closed for Palestinians in all but “medical and humanitarian cases”. However, the spokesperson said Palestinians from the West Bank with permits to attend Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem would be allowed passage. Goodwill gestures to Gaza Arabs, including travel permits to Jerusalem to participate in Ramadan prayers on the Temple Mount, were also rescinded.
Israel regularly demolishes the homes of alleged attackers in what it describes as a deterrent.
The demolitions have raised alarm among diplomats and human rights groups over what they regard as the Tel Aviv regime’s sustained violation of worldwide law.
Israel’s Shin Bet security service believes there are many more Palestinian terror cells operating in the West Bank, and they could see Ramadan as an opportunity to strike soft targets like Tel Aviv, so police have beefed up security at crowded public places, such as malls and bus stations.
In Tel Aviv, extra police units have been despatched, mainly around the city’s bus and train stations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Thousands of police and border police officers will patrol Jerusalem’s Old City.
The “Sarona” compound, the scene of Wednesday’s shooting, quickly reopened.
In a statement, President Mahmoud Abbas’ office said “it stands against attacks on civilians, regardless of its sources and justifications”. “Achieving just peace and creating a positive atmosphere is the way to ease tension and end violence”, it said.
The UN human rights body condemned the Tel Aviv attacks but said it was also deeply concerned about Israel’s response.
These aren’t the first restrictions Israel has introduced over the past two weeks.
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Netanyahu also called on Palestinian leaders to condemn the attack.
