JERUSALEM, July 6 (AFP): Israel Sunday reopened border crossings to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after closing them Thursday after a rocket was fired from the territory in defiance of a truce that has been in effect since June 19.
Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner told AFP that the crossings had reopened and merchandise could cross over again, as could people who needed medical treatment in Israel.
The measure had been taken, he said, because no more truce violations had been signalled since Thursday.
Several rockets and mortar rounds have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the truce between Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers went into effect.
The truce was supposed to lead to the easing of a crippling blockade Israel imposed more than a year ago when the Islamist movement seized power in Gaza, but the military said after last week's incident the crossings would be closed until at least Sunday.
Hamas insists that its own fighters are respecting the truce and has vowed to arrest anyone who violates it.
Meanwhile, Israel has successfully tested a new defence system designed to intercept rockets fired from southern Lebanon and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, public radio reported Sunday.
The "Iron Dome" system is expected to be fully operational within a year and will be able to intercept the military-grade Katyusha rockets used by Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and the cruder Qassam rockets favoured by Hamas.
Citing Israeli security officials, public radio said the system would also be effective against mortar fire which has a much smaller window of warning.
In January Prime Minister Ehud Olmert viewed a prototype of the 200-million-dollar (140-million-euro) system, which is being developed under contract by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer.
Iron Dome is part of a multi-layered defence system aimed at protecting Israel from both short-range missiles fired by militants in Gaza or Lebanon and longer-range missiles in the arsenals of regional foes Iran and Syria.
Since the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising in 2000 Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip have come under frequent rocket and mortar attack, leaving them in a constant state of fear.
The attacks have slowed since a truce between Israel and Hamas came into force on June 19, but the fragile Egyptian-brokered agreement has been tested by occasional rockets and mortar rounds fired by smaller armed groups.
Israel also came under sustained attack during its 2006 war with Hezbollah, when more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets were launched at northern Israel in 34 days, sending hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing south.
