West bank road blocks: a system of vindictive control

JVL Introduction

Veteran reporter Amira Hass recounts the tightening grip of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

There are 877 checkpoints and roadblocks, she tells us,  spread between and around Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank (known as Areas A and B), according to documentation and a tally from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. About one-quarter of those – 220 – have been placed since October 2023.

On top of these there are the pop-up roadblocks which just appear for an hour or two.

The purpose of these is arbitrary, but generally they keep Palestinians off the faster roads in the West Bank, especially at rush hour…

This institutionalised system of harassment eats into Palestinians’ lives, making every trip uncertain. It is a regime designed to isolate, divide, destroy and demoralise. And it is getting worse.

It is yet another way in which Jewish settlers and the army lord it over the Palestinians. They do it simply because they can.

RK

This article was originally published by Haaretz on Thu 6 Nov 2025. Read the original here.