Israel s Impact On The West Bank - 901 Words

Israel has made travel between major Palestinian population centers (Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron) in the West Bank easier over the last several years. Several major checkpoints in the West Bank that restricted direct movement between and into these cities have been removed or modified. However, in general this opening is less the result of an overall easing in movement restrictions than the result of the institutionalization of movement controls into a formal and permanent regime of restrictions that has replaced roadblocks with gates that can be opened and closed at the whim of the military and that has reconfiguring how Palestinians travel. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian†¦show more content†¦While Palestinian movement is severely restricted, a separate system of roads that are closed to Palestinians or that bypass Palestinian communities has been set up for Settlers to ensure their unrestricted movement in the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel.[iii] According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, â€Å"there were 67 kilometers of roads in the West Bank that Israel classified for the sole, or practically sole, use of Israelis, first and foremost of settlers. Israel also prohibits Palestinians from even crossing some of these roads with vehicles, thereby restricting their access to nearby roads that they are ostensibly not prohibited from using. In these cases, Palestinians travelers have to get out of their vehicle, cross the road on foot, and find an alternative mode of transportation on the other side.†[iv] OCHA has also reported that in 2013 at least 55 West Bank communities which are home to more than 180,000 people remain completely isolated as a result of roadblocks, barriers, checkpoints and other movement restrictions. All of the main roads into and out of these communities remain blocked and residents wishing to leave these communities must use alternative routes that are two to five times longer than the blocked direct routes. Many