Israeli checkpoints disrupt daily life for thousands of Palestinians in Hebron
Thousands of Palestinians in Hebron’s Old City face growing restrictions on movement as Israeli authorities expand checkpoints, install iron gates and impose closures that disrupt work, education and trade.
The latest measures include three iron gates placed along a 200-metre stretch of the Old City, affecting routes used by residents, pedestrians and businesses. Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said one blocks al-Zahid Road, while the other two restrict access along al-Shalala Street.
The restrictions are concentrated in H2, the part of Hebron under Israeli security control, where Palestinian residents live alongside Israeli settlers. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the area contains about 40 percent of the West Bank’s 89 checkpoints and 11 percent of its 925 movement obstacles.
Since October 2023, access to parts of the area has been limited to Palestinians with specific identification numbers. Checkpoints generally operate between 7am and 8pm, while security operations and Jewish holidays can bring movement to a halt.
Badr al-Tamimi, 60, who owns a shop in the Old City, says the restrictions have weakened commercial activity and made ordinary journeys increasingly difficult.
“Our presence in the Old City is a matter of steadfastness, not the availability of the elements needed for economic life,” he said.
Hebron’s movement restrictions have developed over decades. The 1994 massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in which a US-born Israeli settler killed 29 Palestinian worshippers, marked a turning point in the Old City’s isolation. The 1997 Hebron Protocol subsequently divided the city into H1, under relative Palestinian jurisdiction, and H2, which remained under Israeli security control.
Issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group, said restrictions intensified during the second Intifada in 2000. Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, the number of checkpoints in the city has increased to 32, while other movement obstacles have risen to more than 130.
Al-Jabari estimates that around 10,000 Palestinians in the Old City and surrounding closed zones are affected. Some areas are inaccessible to vehicles, and residents face curfews several days a week. The mayor also cited the closure of Shuhada Street, the shutdown of more than 500 shops and the expansion of settlement outposts and military positions.
The impact extends to education. Ayat al-Jabari, a 40-year-old science teacher, said a journey that should have taken five minutes to reach her former school near Shuhada Street often lasted an hour. She frequently walked through a cemetery to avoid checkpoints, where she said soldiers and settlers sometimes obstructed or verbally abused Palestinians.
Her current school near the Ibrahimi Mosque also closes during Jewish holidays because students live in areas placed under lockdown.
Hebron’s municipality has filed lawsuits in Israeli courts against the restrictions, although the mayor expressed doubts about the judiciary’s impartiality. Israeli authorities cite security concerns to justify the measures, while Palestinian residents and officials say the expanding restrictions are making it increasingly difficult to remain in the Old City and sustain normal community life.
Source: Al jazeera
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