Israel extends closure of Gaza crossing

GAZA - Israel on Sunday decided to keep the only commercial crossing point in the Gaza Strip closed until Wednesday due to Jewish holidays, a Palestinian official said.

The closure came after the two rockets, which were fired by an al-Qaida-linked group, landed in southern Israel as U.S. President Barack Obama was visiting the region.

Raed Fatouh, the Palestinian National Authority's representative at the crossing, said that Israel cited security reasons when it shut down the commercial crossing point Thursday and decided to keep it closed until Wednesday due to Passover holiday.

As part of its response to the rocket fire, Israel has also restricted Palestinian fishermen's working area to three nautical miles.

The rocket attack and the Israeli measures are seen as a violation of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that took effect in November.