Israeli restrictions in Hebron have made life for Palestinians from the city a daily ordeal. Hebron, occupied West Bank – Badr al-Tamimi, 60, lives in Hebron ’ s Old City, where Israeli checkpoints, iron gates and road closures turn the simplest tasks into a dispiriting daily ordeal for Palestinian residents. The report has prompted swift reactions from officials and advocacy groups alike.

Background

What is happening now can be traced back to a series of decisions and events that preceded it.

This is most pronounced in an area known as H2, where Israel has complete control and Palestinians are subject to the dictates of the military.

A few days ago, Israeli authorities installed three iron gates across a 200-metre ( 656-foot) stretch of Hebron ’ s Old City – amounting to just 0.2 dunams ( 200 square metres) – as part of Israel ’ s apparent attempts to restrict Palestinians ’ freedom to action approximately the city.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, they are part of a wider web of travel restrictions across the occupied West Bank, but Hebron, which has a strong settler presence, has suffered more than predominantly Palestinian cities.

International Reaction

With opinions divided in some quarters, the overall assessment remains significant.

Approximately 40 percent of the 89 checkpoints in the West Bank and 11 percent of all 925 movement obstacles are located in the H2 area of Hebron, which is under tight Israeli control, based on to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA).

According to those with knowledge of the situation, about 7,000 Palestinians in an area of Hebron where hundreds of settlers live are affected by the latest travel restrictions.

Against this backdrop, palestinians can be kept waiting for hours at the checkpoints, and the mood of a soldier manning one can decide the commute time of a Palestinian.

What It Means

The ripple effects of what has occurred are expected to reach well beyond the initial story.

In 1997, the Hebron Protocol was ratified between the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) and Israel, dividing the city into two zones: H1, which was under relative Palestinian jurisdiction, and H2 – an area which includes the Old City, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and illegal settlements – remained under Israeli security control.

Further developments have shed additional light on the matter. issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group, indicated Israeli prohibitions intensified with the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 when Hebron became a centre of the uprising.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, since Israel ’ s genocidal war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, the number of checkpoints has risen to 32, whereas other obstacles impeding Palestinian movement now exceed 130.

In what observers are describing as a key detail, the “ closed zones ”, designated by Israeli authorities as areas of military activity with restricted access to Palestinians, have expanded close to the Ibrahimi Mosque and the illegal settlements that lie in the heart of the city.

Reports further indicate that various parts of Hebron are inaccessible to vehicles,

Next Steps

What this development ultimately means remains to be seen. But its significance — both in the immediate term and over the longer horizon — is already being felt by those involved and those watching from the outside.