Israel’s West Bank road closures turn routine journeys into long ordeals

What the report says

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are facing longer travel times, repeated checkpoint delays and, in some cases, blocked access to medical care as Israel tightens movement restrictions during the Jewish holiday period, according to Al Jazeera. The report, published Sept. 29, says the current closure runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 and affects travel between cities, villages and nearby hospitals.

One case described by Al Jazeera involved Zahriya Abu Hijleh, 66, who collapsed at a wedding reception in Deir Istiya and was later found to have suffered a pulmonary embolism. Her family said an ambulance could not reach the town because a gate at the entrance was closed, forcing medics to transfer her past the barrier on foot and into a second ambulance. Her son said the delay proved fatal. The article also recounts a separate journey from al-Janiya to Nablus that stretched from morning until midnight after closures at checkpoints north of Ramallah and other blocked roads.

The report says Palestinians are also spending nights with relatives or in temporary shelters when they cannot pass through closed roads, while municipalities have used wedding halls and mosques to help stranded travelers. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission is cited as saying there were 942 checkpoints, closure points and obstacles in the West Bank as of Sept. 25, up from 793 in March 2024.

Al Jazeera also says restrictions have tightened around Hebron and East Jerusalem, limiting Palestinian access to the Ibrahimi Mosque and Al-Aqsa Mosque while settlers move more freely. The article argues these closures deepen fragmentation across Palestinian areas and complicate access to work, school, health care and farmland.