Today, Saturday, the Israeli occupation forces continued to install iron gates at the entrances to towns and villages in the West Bank, as part of a policy of tightening the siege on the West Bank, cutting it off and turning it into "isolated areas", restricting the movement of citizens and imposing collective punishment on them.

In this context, the occupation forces installed an iron gate and placed cement blocks at the entrance to the village of Kafr Malik, east of Ramallah, from the direction of the neighboring village of Deir Jarir. They also installed an iron gate at the main entrance to the town of Deir Istiya, northwest of Salfit, noting that it has been closed with earthen barriers for ten days.

In Bethlehem Governorate, the occupation forces installed an iron gate on the sides of the eastern entrance to the town of Al-Khader, south of the governorate. They also placed a gate at the western entrance to the town, under the bridge near the Aqabat Hasna area, the main entrance leading to the western countryside. Meanwhile, an iron gate was installed near the Jaba military checkpoint, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, to block the paths of citizens trying to take the dirt roads, which are in addition to another one installed a year ago at the military checkpoint.

The occupation soldiers control the opening and closing of the gates according to their moods, and the gate may remain closed for several days or even months, which severely restricts the movement of citizens and forces them to use alternative and rugged dirt roads to reach their destinations.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation has significantly escalated its policy of besieging and isolating cities and towns in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, since the beginning of the aggression against our people on October 7, 2023, as it wages a war on the main and secondary roads and entrances to cities, towns, villages and population centers, by placing iron gates, cement blocks and earthen barriers, as part of a policy of collective punishment and oppression of citizens.