(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel) Authorities have announced a closure will be implemented on residents of Palestinian Authority areas on Wednesday morning lasting until Monday.

The closure is intended to prevent PA residents in Yehuda and Shomron from entering pre-1967 Green Israel during the three-day Purim weekend, which gets underway on Thursday night, with the conclusion of Tannis Esther (The Fast of Esther).

As was reported by YWN earlier (HERE), the closure is the result of mounting intelligence warnings, including seven credible warnings of planned terror attacks. The closure also coincides with the conclusion of the Muslim 40-day mourning period for senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bomb attack in February. Hizbullah has pointed the finger of blame for the deadly attack at Israel.

IDF troops along the northern border remain on heightened alert against a possible border attack, specifically a Hizbullah attempt to abduct soldiers from border positions.

Police have moved to a level III operational level, one level below a state-of-emergency.