According to Palestinian statistics, since the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, Israel has erected nearly a thousand barriers in the West Bank it occupies, hindering the freedom of travel of the Palestinian people and disrupting their normal lives.
According to statistics from the Palestinian official agency “Isolation Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee”, the Israeli side has built 916 barriers in the West Bank, including metal doors, obstacles, walls, etc., since the new round of Israeli conflict erupted more than two years ago, according to local people, the scale of the new barrier “has never been seen before.”
Israel occupied parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the Third Middle East War in 1967 and built Jewish settlements. For a long time, Israeli military restrictions on Palestinian people's activities and access have sparked strong opposition from the Palestinian side.
The United Nations said that in the first two weeks of September, 18 new gates were discovered in the West Bank. These gates, as well as obstacles such as large mounds of earth and concrete blocks in the middle of the road, hinder Palestinian people's daily travel. It is inconvenient to see a doctor or go to school, and cars cannot bypass them.
An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, argued that the Israeli army faced a "complex security situation" in the West Bank and that roadblocks were not set up to restrict people's travel, but for "management and monitoring."
The Israeli army has installed metal doors between many town entrances and cities, where Israeli soldiers are stationed. Local Palestinians say the doors are open at irregular times, sometimes even closed for days.
Villagers in Abd Village said that the gate at the entrance of the village was closed from 6: 00 to 9: 00 every morning, which affected school and work.
Eyad Jamil, a restaurant owner in Singil Village, said that every time his son goes to Ramallah, a city in the West Bank, he is worried about whether his son can come back. "They (the Israeli army) often don't open the door and often trap everyone inside as soon as they close it."
Source: Xinhua News Agency