Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann said Monday morning that refugees seeking to escape Hamas' conquest of Gaza should be allowed to pass through Israel into the West Bank.

"We should allow those Gaza residents seeking to escape in fear of Hamas terror and occupation to go to the West Bank. Israel must alleviate their transfer, as long as those requesting refuge are not Hamas militants or those who endanger our security," Friedmann said.

The Israel Defense Forces is continuing its intensified deployment in the south in response to Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. IDF troops, mostly from the Armored Corps, have been taking up key positions around the Erez and Karni crossings over the past few days.

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All of the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip are sealed.

On Friday and Saturday several dozen Fatah operatives were granted entry into Israel, with the permission of the Shin Bet security service. Activists from human rights organizations and journalists were also allowed to cross.

Entry to the Gaza Strip from Israel is otherwise forbidden. A military official said Sunday that for the time being, no coordination of any kind is taking place between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including in humanitarian cases.

"There is nobody to talk to, and there is total disconnection from the Palestinian side," the official said.

However, officials at the Erez Crossing liaison office made it clear Sunday that the army does not object to the transfer of fuel distillates to the strip through the Karni Crossing.

Sources there claimed Sunday that permission was granted for a tanker carrying 500 liters of fuel to enter the strip through Karni.

On Sunday morning, large numbers of Palestinians showed up at the Erez Crossing hoping to be allowed passage into Israel, but were blocked by IDF soldiers.

An IDF spokesperson reported there had been no irregular incidents in the area on Sunday, after soldiers were forced over the weekend to fire warning shots in the air to deter Palestinians who had approached the Israeli side of the crossing.

The IDF has deployed troops along the perimeter fence to prevent Gazans from getting into Israel and thwarted attempts by unarmed Palestinians to do so. In two incidents, infiltrators managed to get across the fence, but were captured by IDF soldiers on Israeli territory.

In a separate incident Sunday, IDF soldiers opened fire on a group of potential infiltrators after demanding they stop apporaching the security fence which separates Palestinian territory from Israel.

One Palestinian was wounded in the leg and taken for medical treatment in Gaza.

Sources in the IDF's Gaza Division said there has been an increase in infiltration attempts by unarmed Palestinians over the past few days because of the Hamas takeover in Gaza, with a marked increase on Sunday.

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