Checkpoints Reports

The Wall Construction of the barrier began in April 2002. The Wall is 8 meters high is surrounded by an exclusion area which is 60 meters wide, although in some cases houses and other structures have been demolished for being within 200 meters of the barrier. 90% of the wall runs east of the Green Line. The closed area (land between the wall and the Green Line) amounts to 479,881 dunams, or 8.5% of the West Bank. This area is among the most resource-rich in Palestine, covering some of its most fertile land and valuable aquifers. A further 191,040 dunams lie east of the barrier but are completely surrounded by it. The total Palestinian population in the areas affected is 497,820. 60 settlements with a total population of 379,958 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are encircled by the wall, (are to the west of the barrier). In a 2007 survey of the northern half of the West Bank, covering the districts of Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya, and Salfit, OCHA recorded activity near the wall. Of 67 Barrier gates, only 19 are open to Palestinians on a daily basis, provided the possess a visitors permit. 29 are never open to Palestinians. Of the 30,000 Palestinians who formerly worked on land in the closed area (between the Barrier and the Green Line) only 18% have received visitors permits. 7 Palestinian communities in the closed area have no access to primary health care. Roughly 1,200 people have moved away from their villages due to the inconveniences of the wall. Dozens of humanitarian organizations have reported a significant decrease in the standards of living in communities affected by the wall. Education, health care, and employment have become less accessible, the amount of time spent waiting at checkpoints has risen dramatically, and consumer goods have become more scarce due to trade restrictions.

Effects of the Checkpoints

OCHA reported 563 barriers at the end of 2007, of which 476 were manned checkpoints and 87 were roadblocks. In addition, the IDF erects dozens of random, or "flying", checkpoints each week (see the timeline below). Numerous studies have found that the IDF's checkpoint system is largely to blame for economic deterioration in the Occupied Palestinian Territori. Many experience massive delays on their way to work, and queues lasting hours on end are routinely reported. On occasion the IDF will close a checkpoint arbitrarily, without warning nor explanation. The rigid system of trade control also makes it difficult for farmers to deliver their produce to market before it goes bad sitting in the sun. The World Bank has reported that sustainable economic rejuvenation in the West Bank would require "a restoration of the presumption of movement, and [a] review of Israeli control of the population registry and other means of dictating the residency of Palestinians within the West Bank and Gaza”. Checkpoints, like the wall, have disastrous consequence for health care in the Palestinian territories. According to human rights organisations and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 117 deaths and 31 stillbirths have occured in cases where the IDF has blocked patients and medical personnel from crossing checkpoints. The adversity Palestinians face regarding transportation is further exacerbated by Israel's system of automobile license plates in the OPT. Palestinians with green license plates are not permitted west of the barrier, nor are they permitted on some 311km of bypass roads, which have been constructed mainly to serve Israeli settlers in the West Bank. An additional 400-500 km of bypass roads exist wherein Palestinian access is restricted. These roads are surrounded by a buffer zone which is between 50 and 70 meters wide on both sides; the Palestine Monitor estimates that for each 100km of bypass road built in the West Bank, 2,500 acres (over 10,000 dunams) of land are sequestered.

Timeline

February 19: 77 Flying Checkpoints On February 14, IDF stationed at Deir al-Ghossoun prevented an ambulance from reaching a 59-year old woman from the Tulkarem area who had begun experiencing chest pains. Her family ordered a private taxi, which took her to the checkpoint where the ambulance was waiting on the other side. The IDF denied her passage, so she returned to her village, but died of a heart attack shortly after.

February 12: 102 Flying Checkpoints
The IDF closed several roads in the northern West Bank by erecting road blocks and earth mounds and drastically increased flying checkpoints as a result of a heightened security alert.

February 5: 78 Flying Checkpoints
On January 30, a 30-year-old Palestinian man was physically assaulted by the IDF at Tubas checkpoint before being detained for two hours.

January 29: 55 Flying Checkpoints
On January 24, an Israeli border police officer was shot by an unknown gunman at the checkpoint outside Shufat refugee camp. The IDF subsequently imposed a closure around Jerusalem for a day.

January 22: 55 Flying Checkpoints
The IDF closed checkpoints at Huwwara and ‘Awarta for three hours without explanation, January 18.

January 15: 53 Flying Checkpoints
There was a massive lockdown in Jerusalem and the West Bank between the 12th and the 15th, due to President Bush's visit to the region.

January 8: 80 Flying Checkpoints
On January 7, the IDF blocked a 32-year-old man and his 23-year-old pregnant wife on their way to a hospital from crossing the Al-Shuhada Street checkpoint (Bethlehem). The woman was forced to give birth at the checkpoint, and was later transported to the hospital by a Red Crescent ambulance.

Week Ending January 1: 62 Flying Checkpoints
Two settlers from Kiryat Arba and one Palestinian were killed in a brief exchange of fire on Road 35. The IDF subsequently closed all entry points to Hebron