An anti-settlement monitoring group reports that Israeli authorities have erected nearly 1,000 barriers across the occupied West Bank since the genocidal Gaza war began, further curbing Palestinian movement and deepening daily hardships under military rule.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC) reported on Thursday that 916 gates, checkpoints, and walls have been erected in the region since early October 2023 — when the genocidal war on Gaza began.
The official Palestinian governmental body — affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — noted that the metal gates, sometimes manned by Israeli soldiers, are stationed at many village and town entrances and between cities, blocking access in and out.
Palestinians report that the gates have inconsistent opening hours, with some remaining closed for several days.
Residents in the village of Aboud said the gates are closed daily from 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) to 9:00 a.m., preventing students from reaching university and citizens from getting to their jobs.
“Under the current circumstances, everything has been cut off. Everything has stopped,” a resident of Deir Dibwan village said.
Approximately three million Palestinians are now compelled to take lengthy detours, often exceeding an hour, for trips that should typically require no more than 20 minutes.
“This is all part of the occupation’s strategy to undermine people’s sense of security,” one resident, a taxi driver, said.
In the first two weeks of September, the United Nations reported documenting the installation of 18 gates across the West Bank.
The gates and other barriers, including large earth mounds and concrete blocks, limit Palestinians’ freedom of movement and access to essential services like healthcare and education. Barriers are positioned in the center of the roads to stop vehicles from bypassing them.
While the Israeli regime states that the restrictions are aimed at “militants”, Palestinians perceive them as collective punishment and a larger effort to suppress resistance.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reports that Israeli forces and illegal settlers have recently engaged in a series of violent incidents throughout the West Bank.
Earlier this month, settlers carried out attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters in the village of Kafr Thulth. Shepherds were also targeted, leading to the loss of several goats that were killed during the assaults.
Olive farmers in Farata have lately come under attack, with settlers firing live ammunition at them. Additionally, the Israeli military has actively supported and reinforced the settlers’ attempts against the harvesters.
Since the onset of the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, which commenced in October 2023, Israeli settler and military attacks have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 10,000 others, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Palestinian property has been targeted over 2,400 times in the past two years, resulting in the displacement of at least 3,055 individuals.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and urged the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
