Israel blocks major road connecting Palestine

In yet another clampdown by its forces, Israel on Wednesday blocked a major road connecting the country with Nablus in West Bank.

The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces closed the Huwwara checkpoint after an Israeli settler was shot dead on Tuesday night.

The closure of the road is forcing commuters to take longer and alternative routes to reach various places in West Bank and Ramallah.

Meanwhile, the Israeli forces carried out more raids in Nablus and other nearby villages, in response to Tuesday's shooting.

Protests and violence erupted in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip after U..S President Donald Trump, last month, announced the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians. Unofficial figures of casualties vary between 30 to 40. At least 2,900 others have been injured and more than 400 arrested so far.

On Christmas eve, Israel also sealed-off the entrance to the West Bank cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh until further notice.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also rejected the American peace efforts and called on the European Union (EU) to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process.

Jerusalem is considered as a sacred place and is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as the capital of its future state.