Tuesday July 10, 2007 11:50 by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC Staff nisreen at imemc dot org

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, an Israeli military force completely closed the tunnel checkpoint and Jabara door, south of Tulkarem City, for one hour.

Local civilians reported that Israeli soldiers closed the checkpoints and banned all traffic to and from Tulkarem from crossing the post, causing much disruption in the area.

Local civilians added that Israeli soldiers chased and detained those who tried to pass through a bypass road on foot in order to avoid the checkpoint. The soldiers detained 7 civilians, the identity of whom remains unknown.

Sameer Ahmad, a Tulkarem resident and a governmental employee in Qalqiliya reported that the checkpoint was very crowded and that the soldiers cared little about the civilians detained there, with military forces ordering those under 35 to return to their homes.

Sameer added that, for the ninth consecutive day, he had been unable to reach his place of work because of Israeli measures in the area.

No exceptions were made in the checkpoint closure, with even those who were leaving or entering the city to receive medical treatment being barred from crossing the post.

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