‘They lock us in like sheep’: new Israeli checkpoints and barriers raise fears in the West Bank. Israel’s growing network of roadblocks are cutting off communities from major transport routes, disrupting work, education and aid supplies

Palestinians living in the West Bank passing through the Qalandiya military checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem for the first Friday prayer of Ramadan. Photograph: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu/Getty Images

Jason Burke and Sufian Taha, in the occupied West Bank

Sat 15 Mar 2025 12.09 EDT

The road to Atara from Ramallah winds through the hills and valleys of the occupied W est Bank. To drive the nine miles to the village from the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority should take about half an hour, despite the potholes and traffic.

These days, the taxi drivers waiting for fares on Radio Street in the north of the city shrug when asked when they will arrive at their destination.

“Thirty minutes, one hour, half a day, it all depends on the checkpoints. If I could tell you, I would … but no one knows,” said Ahmed Barghouti, 50, a driver for over 20 years.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza in January, life for the 2.9 million Palestinians in the West Bank has not become easier. Israel immediately launched a bloody major offensive in the north that has so far forced at least 40,000 people from their homes, the largest displacement since Israel’s occupation began in 1967, and killed dozens, including children.

At the same time, Israeli authorities have been constructing new checkpoints and barriers. According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 119 “iron gates” have been set up since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, including many since January. These block access to villages and towns, cutting off entire communities from major transport routes.

There are now close to 900 barriers in the West Bank, the PA said. The UN has recorded more than 800, a steep increase on the 645 in 2023.

Palestinian officials say this “localised system” of roadblocks is a change from a strategy merely to cut the West Bank into north, south and central sections. “It no longer controls movement alone, but also … access to ­agricultural land, social and livelihood opportunities, health, education and the economy, among other things,” Amir Daoud, of the Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Committee, told the Observer.

A survey last month of NGOs working in the West Bank found that 93% said roadblocks, permit denials and checkpoint delays hindered aid delivery... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/15/israeli-checkpoints-barriers-raise-fears-in-the-west-bank

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