Israel Enforces Week-Long West Bank Closure Amid Sukkot, Tightening Checkpoint Controls

Israel has imposed a week-long closure on the occupied West Bank, citing the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The order, issued by Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday following military recommendations, remains in effect until Saturday. This measure compounds existing severe movement restrictions for Palestinians, who already navigate a landscape dotted with hundreds of Israeli checkpoints and barriers.

During the closure, controls at these installations will be further intensified, effectively blocking access to key religious sites including Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. In the Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate alone, forces blocked roads and sealed entrances to villages such as Turmus Aya, Aboud, Nabi Saleh, Atara, and Taybeh on Sunday. Additional checkpoints were established in Yabroud, Ein Siniya, and Jaba to conduct vehicle searches and ID checks.

The restrictions also prevent Palestinians holding permits from working in Israel and its settlements from commuting. The workforce in this category had already been drastically reduced since the onset of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Currently, only workers classified as essential are permitted entry into Israeli industrial zones within the West Bank.

For decades, many Palestinians have sought employment inside Israel due to high local unemployment and low wages, consequences of nearly six decades of occupation that have constrained the Palestinian economy, land access, and freedom of movement. Prior to the Gaza conflict, approximately 160,000 West Bank Palestinians worked for Israeli employers, according to the Palestinian Institute for Economic Policy Research. After Israel barred most permit holders, that figure plummeted to roughly 27,300 by mid-2024. Consequently, West Bank unemployment surged from 12.9 percent in September 2023 to 30.7 percent a year later, according to the Israeli rights organization Gisha.

The physical infrastructure of control is extensive. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports more than 300 checkpoints across the West Bank. As of December, these formed part of 925 obstacles restricting the movement of 3.4 million Palestinians in the territory and East Jerusalem. The breakdown includes:

• 89 checkpoints staffed 24/7
• 218 partial checkpoints with intermittent staffing, 152 of which feature gates
• 232 road gates, with 159 frequently closed
• 114 linear closures, including earth walls and trenches
• 167 earth mounds
• 105 roadblocks

These installations significantly disrupt daily life, forcing hundreds of thousands onto longer commutes for work and school while hindering access to medical care. Major chokepoints include the Qalandiya checkpoint, which historically handled about a third of all movement between Ramallah and East Jerusalem; Checkpoint 300, which blocks the route between Bethlehem and Jerusalem; the Eyal checkpoint serving Qalqilya and the northern West Bank; the Taybeh checkpoint south of Tulkarem; and the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Hebron.

This tightening occurs against a backdrop of escalating tensions. In September 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution urging Israel to end its “unlawful” occupation within a year. Israel has responded by intensifying raids, deploying soldiers alongside settlers during attacks on Palestinian towns, and expanding settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.