In the village of Rujeib, southeast of Nablus, Al-Kamel Dairy Factory stands as a stark example of how Israeli military checkpoints are suffocating commerce in the occupied West Bank. Established in 2022, the dairy farm has been forced to park two distribution trucks permanently in its yard due to a sharp decline in market demand and mobility constraints. This stagnation is directly linked to the proliferation of roadblocks following the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC), there are approximately 925 checkpoints and military gates across the West Bank, with 147 located in the Nablus governorate, which serves as Al-Kamel’s primary market. Since the conflict began, transport movement in the territory has dropped by more than 50 percent. These obstructions have drastically inflated production and logistics costs for Palestinian companies.
Dweikat, a representative for Al-Kamel, told Al Jazeera that the company has seen sales fall between 30 and 40 percent, compelling it to lay off at least 12 workers. He described a
50 percent drop in transport is catastrophic. How do any businesses survive when you can’t ship your product?
Another dairy farm failing? This isn’t just business; it’s erasing entire communities from the map.
Seems like moving soldiers around is cheap, but moving milk is impossible. The economic logic is deeply broken.
I never realized how many checkpoints exist. This level of control seems designed to dismantle the economy entirely.
My uncle lost his shop in Nablus last year because he couldn’t get his goods through the roadblocks.
The human cost here is staggering. 925 checkpoints is a logistical nightmare that crushes livelihoods daily.