UN Human Rights Office: Israel's imposition of a comprehensive closure on the West Bank increases restrictions on Palestinian life
Amman2 min read
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The United Nations Human Rights Office criticized the Israeli occupation authorities' decision to impose a comprehensive closure on the occupied West Bank, considering it part of a pattern of collective punishment that increases restrictions on the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians.
The office's spokesperson in the occupied Palestinian territory, Mai Al-Sheikh, said in a press statement, "The decision came following reports of the killing of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinian gunmen in Hebron," noting the closure of the city's entrances and exits and the Ibrahimi Mosque to worshippers.
The office warned of the repercussions of the closure on the olive harvest season, as the restrictions prevent thousands of farmers from reaching their groves, coinciding with the documentation of more than 160 settler attacks during the first two weeks of October, including shootings, arson, crop theft, and the destruction of trees.
It added that the attacks also affected diplomatic representatives from the European Union and an international journalist.
It considered the movement restrictions part of a system of domination and apartheid, and a policy aimed at annexing land and forcing Palestinians to displace, as it described, confirming that their tightening since October 2023 hinders residents' access to schools and workplaces and their return to their homes, and calling for them not to be allowed to continue.
The Israeli occupation army announced, on Friday evening, the start of a military operation in the West Bank lasting several days, coinciding with incursions into Palestinian cities and towns, including Hebron, Nablus, Tubas, the town of Aqaba to its north, and Qalqilya.
The occupation army said, in a statement, that the operation targets dozens of areas across the West Bank, noting that the operation in Hebron focuses on searching the area from which the perpetrators of the Hebron operation set out, to uncover weapons and infrastructure, with the participation of the Israeli intelligence agency (Shin Bet) and border guard forces.
It added that residents in the operation area will be able to leave through 3 exits, after undergoing security searches and interrogation.
