Israeli army shuts down Palestinian mall

Middle East News.Net
Tuesday 8th July, 2008

A shopping mall housing more than seventy stores has been closed by the Israeli army.

The pre-dawn closure on Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Nablus is part of a crackdown by the army on civilian and social infrastructure in the Palestinian territories.

Schools, hospitals, medical clinics, and even orphanges and soup kitchens have been targeted by the Israeli military, because they have, or have had in the past, links to Hamas.

The mutli-storey mall in Hebron is owned by varied Palestinian interests, but the board of directors is chaired by a man who has links to Hamas. The man, Adli Yaish, who is also the Mayor of Nablus, has been sent to an Israeli prison.

A medical society, two humanitarian organizations, a trade union, and a support group for political prisoners held in Israeli jails, was also shut down Tuesday.

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