Restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by Israel are an issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Following the 1967 war, the occupied territories were proclaimed closed military zones. In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of those territories to move freely between the West Bank, Israel and the Gaza Strip. Following the First Intifada by 1991, the general exit orders were revoked, and personal exit permits were required. According to B'Tselem, a measure of overall closure of the territories was enacted for the first time in 1993, and would result in total closures following rises in Palestinian political violence.

In the mid-1990s, with the signing of the Oslo Accords and the division of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into three separate administrative divisions, there was little change to these restrictions. Comprehensive closures following the outbreak of the Second Intifada resulted in a few months of almost complete prohibition on Palestinian movement into Israel and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel then allowed limited travel by Palestinians into Israel for medical treatment, trade, and other needs, and a limited number of workers were allowed to work in Israel. This situation was still in place as of 2010. Israel occasionally still places comprehensive closures and cancels permits following acts of violence by Palestinians and during Israeli holidays. Israel says that the restrictions are necessary to protect Israelis living in Israel and Israeli settlements.

Israel enforces restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank by employing a system of permanent, temporary and random manned checkpoints, the West Bank barrier and by forbidding the usage of roads by Palestinians. A 2007 World Bank report concluded that the West Bank "is experiencing severe and expanding restrictions on movement and access, high levels of unpredictability and a struggling economy". Unmanned physical obstructions to block roads and paths might include dirt piles, concrete blocks, large stones, barriers, ditches, and metal gates. The physical obstructions might be altered often, on the basis of political and security circumstances.

Background

The ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories and expansion of Israeli settlements, until 2005 also in Gaza, furthered hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis. During the Second Intifada in 2000, in response to Palestinian attacks on both Israeli soldiers and civilians, Israel tightened the borders. A comprehensive system of restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians within the West Bank was developed. This system consists of physical obstacles (checkpoints, roadblocks, the West Bank barrier), and administrative restrictions (prohibited roads, permit requirements, age restrictions. Since Hamas' takeover of Gaza in 2007, Israel has imposed a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, restricting imports and fishing areas, and the movement of goods and people between West Bank and Gaza.Five Years of Blockade: The Humanitarian Situation in the Gaza Strip . Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Fact Sheet, 14 June 2012. On

The systematic restriction on the freedom of movement of Palestinians is also known as the Israeli "closure policy",Ted Nabil Aranki (29 September 2004). The Effect of Israeli Closure Policy on Wage Earnings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . Working Papers 2004:4, Örebro University, School of Business. On Amira Hass (Spring 2002). "Israel's closure policy: An ineffective strategy of containment and repression" . Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3.Colin MacKinnon (December 1997). "Trade and Finance—U.N., World Bank, IMF Criticize Israeli Closure Policy" . Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. or the "policy of separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank". The closure policy is imposed on the Palestinian population as a collective measure. It affects movement within parts of the OPT, between West Bank and Gaza, between the OPT and Israel as well as between the OPT and the rest of the world. While Israel directly controls the borders between Israel and the OPT, it controls the borders with Egypt and Jordan indirectly through provisions in the Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) and the Israel–Jordan peace treaty respectively.

History

Subsequent to the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel's military proclaimed the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be closed military areas by Military Order No. 1.Note 10 annex The Israeli Policy of Closure . PCHR, 20 December 1996 In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to freely leave, and travel between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Palestinians were also allowed to travel to Israel, which included East Jerusalem following its annexation by Israel. Palestinians were not allowed to be in Israel between 1.00 and 5.00 a.m. These exit orders were restricted for the first time in June 1989, shortly after the start of the First Intifada. Israel set up a magnetic card system and only those with such a card were allowed to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip. Magnetic cards were not issued to released prisoners, former administrative detainees, or people who had been detained and released without charges being filed against them.

In 1991, during the Gulf War, general exit orders were revoked and a new policy requiring each resident to obtain a personal exit permit to enter Israel. At first, most Palestinians could continue to enter Israel routinely since Israel issued many permits for relatively long periods. Gradually, however, Israel's permit policy became more and more strict. Under the permanent closure policy, residents of Gaza required a personal exit permit to travel within Israel or the West Bank.

In March 1993, Israel imposed an overall closure on the Gaza Strip with newly built checkpoints. The overall closure policy was imposed following the killing of nine Israeli civilians and six security forces personnel by Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories. Israel claimed the closures provide security for Israelis and curtail Palestinian political violence. Amal Jamal, professor of political science at Tel Aviv University says that the policy was used as "a political weapon to force Palestinians into accepting short-term economic improvements over long-term territorial and political solutions".

In September 2000, the start of the Second Intifada triggered Israeli closures and restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. From October 2000, Israel imposed a comprehensive closure of the Gaza Strip. In 2005, Israelis of the Gush Katif Israeli settlements were evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, and all Israeli restrictions on internal movements ceased. In 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, after which Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip and largely closed its borders. Israel further tightened the blockade after Hamas began firing rockets into Israel. The blockade restricts the movement of people into Israel and to other parts of the Palestinian territories. According to B'tselem, Israel's current restrictions on Palestinian movement, implemented since the beginning of the Second Intifada, are the strictest so far implemented by Israel.

Dual citizens United States International airports in Israel had been largely closed to Palestinian Americans (there are not presently any operational airports in Palestine) until 2023 when Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States which would "extend reciprocal privileges to all U.S. citizens and nationals traveling to or through Israel" and commit that they "receive equal treatment without regard to race, religion, or national origin" "including Palestinian Americans on the Palestinian population registry".

Restriction of movement in the West Bank

Israeli rights group B'Tselem called the checkpoints and physical roadblocks set up in the West Bank illegal and a collective punishment. According to B'Tselem, the original purpose of response to "specific security threats" has also become to facilitate the safe passage of settlers on roads that are restricted to Palestinians. Many of the restrictions violate the principle of proportionality and therefore are illegal. The roadblocks split the West Bank into six hardly-connected sections, and make it complicated for Palestinians to reach medical services, travel to work, transport goods and visit relatives. The Israeli Ministry of Justice said in reaction that the roadblocks were put in place to protect Israeli citizens after a long range of suicide and shooting attacks by Palestinian militants, and have prevented hundreds of such attacks."Israeli rights group B'Tselem slams West Bank checkpoints as 'illegal'" . Haaretz, 7 August 2007

Roadblocks and earthmounds

Roadblocks and earthmounds are objects to block traffic, typically used to channel Palestinian traffic into the Israeli checkpoints. Roadblocks are series of about one cubic meter concrete blocks; earthmounds are mounds of rubble, dirt and/or rocks. Alternatively, trenches are used to control the movement of vehicles or metal road gates to block access."West Bank movement and access update" . Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 16 June 2010. See Annex I for definitions. - However, no significant improvement took place in the access of Palestinians to areas behind the Barrier ... Lack of improvement also characterized access to agricultural land ... These removals have had a positive, albeit limited, impact on the livelihoods of previously affected farmers. - While checkpoints (including partial checkpoints) comprise only 17 percent of all obstacles they constitute a key component of the closure system, due to the fact that most of the remaining obstacles (roadblocks, earthmounds, etc.) are designed to channel Palestinian traffic into the checkpoints.

Checkpoints

According to B'Tselem, there were 99 fixed checkpoints in the West Bank in September 2013, in addition to 174 surprise flying checkpoints. In August 2013, 288 flying checkpoints were counted. At the close of 2012, OCHA counted on average approximately 532 physical obstructions a month, including roadblocks, earthmounds, earth walls, road gates, road barriers, and trenches."Checkpoints, Physical Obstructions, and Forbidden Roads" . B'Tselem, Updated 24 November 2013

Checkpoints inside the West Bank

Most of the checkpoints are used by Israel to control the internal movements of Palestinians with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israelis and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing. As of 31 August 2009, according to B'Tselem, the Israeli army had 60 permanent checkpoints inside the West Bank, 18 of them in the city of Hebron. According to B'Tselem, 28 are regularly staffed – some around the clock, some only during the day, and some only a few hours a day. According to B'Tselem, permanent checkpoints form the most severe restriction on movement of Palestinians, who are subjected to checks that often cause prolonged delays and at some checkpoints, soldiers ban every Palestinian from going through except those who carry special permits.

Many checkpoints only allow the passage of Palestinians who meet certain gender and age-based criteria. Figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), state that there has been an average of 65 random checkpoints in the West Bank each week between September 2008 and the end of March 2009.

Checkpoints between Israel and West Bank