A Zionist army general on Friday said the occupation military planned to ratchet up restrictions on Palestinians during the fasting month of holy Ramadan, which will likely begin on June 29.

A Zionist army general on Friday said the occupation military planned to ratchet up restrictions on Palestinians during the fasting month of holy Ramadan, which will likely begin on June 29.

"Ramadan 2014 will not be like Ramadan in previous years," Yoav Mordechai, who heads the branch of the Zionist army tasked with running Palestinian civil affairs, was quoted as saying by the 'Times of Israel' news portal.

Tensions in the Palestinian territories have run high since three settlers were allegedly missing late Thursday from the Jewish-only Gush Etzion settlement bloc, located near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

For the past two years, the Zionist authorities have allowed West Bank Palestinians into Jerusalem to perform prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Since the settlers' alleged disappearance last week, however, thousands of Palestinian workers and business owners have been banned from entering Hebron or crossing into neighboring Jordan via the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge linking the West Bank to the Hashemite kingdom.

Restriction on the freedom of movement for Palestinians has tightened since 12 June when more than 200 Palestinians were detained in the West Bank in the context of security operations carried out by Zionist authorities.

In recent days, Zionist security forces have detained scores of Palestinians – including leading Hamas members, lawmakers and former government ministers – throughout the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, an NGO, some 5200 Palestinians – including 191 in administrative detention – continue to languish in occupation jails.