[News] Closures and checkpoints: How Israel turns life in the West Bank into a living hell

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Closures and checkpoints: How Israel turns life in the West Bank into a
living hell

Wednesday 18-June-2025 -
https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/06/18/341504/
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GAZA, (PIC)

Following its recent aggression against Iran, the Israeli occupation
authorities have effectively turned the West Bank into a large prison by
imposing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian residents. Main
roads have been closed, leading to near-total paralysis of daily life and
worsening their suffering.

For the fifth consecutive day, the Israeli military has intensified its
security measures at the entrances and exits of West Bank governorates.
Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission,
described this move as a form of “systematic collective punishment” aimed
at crippling civilian life and cutting off movement between towns and
villages.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Shaaban stressed that Israel’s closure system
constitutes a serious violation of Palestinians’ fundamental rights,
particularly the right to freedom of movement and access to medical care.

He pointed out that the occupation authorities are deliberately closing
roads to Palestinians—the rightful inhabitants of the land—while keeping
them open to Israeli settlers, further entrenching a system of apartheid.
According to him, the number of barriers, gates, and military obstacles has
exceeded 898, most of which are closed to Palestinians.

This escalation of closures in the West Bank coincides with Israel’s
ongoing war of extermination in Gaza and its blatant aggression against
Iran. This is part of a long-standing Israeli policy that uses security and
military escalation as a pretext to impose further restrictions on
Palestinians.

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army
and settlers have intensified their attacks in the West Bank, resulting in
the killing of at least 978 Palestinians, injury of about 7,000, and the
arrest of more than 17,500 people, according to Palestinian sources.


*Long queues*Field reports from the West Bank show a widespread presence of
Israeli military checkpoints at the entrances of several cities. Some are
completely sealed off with metal gates, while others have long lines of
vehicles subjected to thorough inspections.

At the main entrance of Qalqilya, in the northern West Bank, vehicles line
up in double rows stretching for hundreds of meters. Citizens are forced to
wait for hours at the only open entrance to the city, according to Ahmad
Abadeh, a truck driver transporting goods.

He told Anadolu, “The soldiers inspect vehicles and ID cards, causing
delays and disruptions,” adding that the Israeli measures have “turned the
lives of Palestinians into a living hell and massive prisons.”

Abadeh mentioned that in the last two days, he had no choice but to use
risky, unpaved mountain roads to deliver food supplies to the markets.


*Vehicle seizures*At the entrance to the town of Biddya, west of Salfit in
the northern West Bank, which has been closed off by a metal gate since
Friday, the Israeli army detained several trucks and seized the keys to
some.

Saji al-Zaher, a truck driver delivering food supplies, said, “I was
offloading my goods to a vehicle on the other side of the gate when
soldiers suddenly appeared, took my keys, and left me stranded on the
street.”

“The area is completely surrounded, and there’s no way to reach the other
side. Residents are waiting for these supplies, and I can’t fulfill their
needs,” he added. “I’ve been waiting here for an hour. I don’t know when
they’ll let me go or if I’ll be attacked. This is a settlement area—I could
be in danger at any moment.”

Videos shared on social media have shown dozens of Palestinians—students,
workers, and employees—crossing on foot from one vehicle to another through
closed gates, attempting to bypass checkpoints to get to their workplaces.

Nasser Abdullah, one of the stranded employees, said, “I haven’t been able
to reach my workplace for days. My only option is to walk and switch
between vehicles.”

“This scene brings back memories of the Second Intifada (2000–2004), but
it’s harsher and more difficult now because of the extent and severity of
the closures.”

Most West Bank residents face daily difficulties in moving around due to
the tight Israeli closures affecting nearly all major entrances of towns
and cities.


*A policy that creates crises*Since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in
2000, Israel has relied on road closures and checkpoints as a key tool for
exerting security control over the West Bank. It has built a complex system
of gates, crossings, and checkpoints that regulate Palestinian movement
between towns and villages and are often used as a form of collective
punishment in response to any political or security tension.

Frequent closures and military checkpoints directly impact economic life in
the West Bank, hindering the movement of goods and workers and causing
major losses to the Palestinian private sector. They have also worsened
crises in sectors such as agriculture, trade, and healthcare, due to the
difficulty of accessing markets and essential services.

These closures come at the same time that Israel, with US support, has
launched a wide-scale military attack on Iran under the name “Rising Lion,”
during which it bombed nuclear facilities, missile bases, and assassinated
key military commanders and nuclear scientists. According to official
Iranian sources, the assault resulted in 224 deaths and 1,277 injuries.

In retaliation, Iran launched a series of ballistic missile and drone
attacks, causing significant material damage and killing 25 people while
injuring 592, according to official Israeli figures.
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