Israel to close Gaza, West Bank access for election

The Israeli army announced that access points to Israel from the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank will be closed for 24 hours on Tuesday as Israel holds a general election.

The decision to close all checkpoints and crossings from midnight 2100 GMT Monday night was based on "security evaluations", the military said in a statement Sunday.

They would only open for humanitarian and medical cases, it added.

Polling starts at 7:00am local time on Tuesday and ends at 10:00pm local time in Israel's closely fought parliamentary election.

Israel usually shuts its borders with the Palestinian territories on public holidays in order to prevent possible attacks.