OMM Redaksiyası
An extensive network of Israeli military checkpoints, gates and barriers across the occupied West Bank has reached 942 sites, restricting Palestinian movement between cities, towns and villages, according to updated data from the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The network consists of 824 fixed checkpoints and closure points, along with 118 linear barriers, including earth mounds, trenches and roadblocks. Together, the linear barriers stretch for 107.7 kilometres (70 miles).
Hebron has the highest number of closures
Hebron governorate has the largest number of fixed checkpoints and closure points, with 221. It is followed by Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 160, Nablus with 120, Bethlehem with 78, Jerusalem with 62, Qalqilya with 41 and Salfit with 40.
Jericho and the Jordan Valley have 27 checkpoints and closure points, while Jenin and Tulkarem each have 26 and Tubas has 23.
Thirteen new fixed checkpoints and gates were added over the past two months, including 10 in Jenin governorate. The number of fixed closure points in Jenin consequently rose from 16 to 26.
The new sites in Jenin include gates and checkpoints at Al-Jalama, Arrana, the industrial zone, Deir Abu Daif, the entrance to Jenin city, Qabatiya, Umm al-Tut, the area around the Arab American University and the Zababdeh junction.
A new gate was also installed on Al-Jariyout road west of Ramallah, along with gates on rural roads west and northwest of the governorate, further restricting movement between villages and nearby areas.
Closures separate communities and farmland
The system extends beyond fixed checkpoints. It also includes iron gates blocking entrances to towns, villages and agricultural roads, as well as earth mounds, trenches and roadblocks cutting off major and secondary routes.
These restrictions enable Israeli forces to control Palestinian movement between cities, workplaces, agricultural land and service centres. The closure of a single gate can force residents to take lengthy alternative routes or leave villages and other areas isolated for hours or days.
As the network has expanded, movement within the West Bank has become divided into separate routes and areas resembling “cantons”. Travel between neighbouring communities may depend on whether specific gates and checkpoints are open.
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission also documented cases involving gates installed on Palestinian roads and land by Israeli settlers. These included a gate in Wadi Hamad on land belonging to Kafr Ni’ma and another east of Umm Safa on a road leading to a Palestinian family’s home, restricting access to the area.
Number of barriers has risen over two decades
The data shows that the current system is an expansion of a network that began developing more than two decades ago. About 757 barriers were recorded across the West Bank in 2003, including 464 earth mounds. The figure stood at 630 in 2008 and 705 in 2018.
OCHA recorded 793 barriers in March 2024. The number rose to 925 in December 2025 before reaching 942 in the latest figures.
OCHA data for 2025 listed 89 checkpoints operating around the clock, 218 partial checkpoints, 232 road gates, 114 linear closures, 167 earth mounds and 105 roadblocks.
The figures indicate a gradual shift from temporary earth barriers towards more permanent gates and checkpoints, increasing Israeli forces’ ability to control Palestinian movement.
The restrictions affect access to farmland and livelihoods, as well as the ability of students, patients and workers to reach schools, hospitals and workplaces. Their impact varies according to the location, duration and type of closure.
As the checkpoint and gate network grows, military restrictions increasingly intersect with the Palestinian road network, lengthening journeys between geographically close communities and deepening their separation. The barriers operate as an interconnected system capable of isolating one area from another or turning a direct route between two towns into a longer journey through several control points.
