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Israel partially lifts blockade of Ramallah on West Bank — army

Ramallah is the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority

TEL AVIV, February 2. / TASS /. The Israel Defense Forces partially lifted the blockade of the city of Ramallah on the West Bank of the Jordan River on Monday evening, the Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said on Tuesday.

"After assessing the situation, the operation of checkpoints resumed as usual", he said.

Ramallah is the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority.

The blockade of Ramallah, when only the residents are allowed to enter the city while residents of other cities are allowed only to leave the city, was put in place on the night of February 1, following an attack on Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the area of the nearby settlement of Beit El on Sunday.

According to Lerner, the attacker opened fire near the Beit El and was killed by counter fire of security forces. He said that three Israelis were wounded in the incident. Later, he added that the three were soldiers of the Israeli army.

According to the Israeli television, two of them are in serious condition.

Since last October, a wave of violence in Israel and the West Bank has already claimed lives of 30 Israelis who were killed by Palestinian extremists. About 200 Palestinians were killed in the last three and half months, most of them were killed during attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis.