May 1, 2008 at 05:38:16

Denying Palestinians Free Movement in the West Bank

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 2 of 11 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

-- physical means to divert movement to certain passageways and roads and prevent access to others;

-- restrictions and prohibitions that first layer physical tools enforce; and

-- the means to ease or tighten, selectively and under careful monitoring, second layer restrictions and prohibitions.

The essential idea is that in combination these layers represent a single control mechanism, all parts operate together, and determining their impact requires evaluating the combined effect of four types of control:

(1) obstructions to deny access to main roads; they divert Palestinians to checkpoints where the army (IDF) supervises movement from one area to another or can deny it altogether; obstructions are in different forms - dirt mounds, concrete blocks, boulders, trenches, fences and iron gates; their numbers have gradually increased and in mid-2007 totaled 455 throughout the West Bank; they limit pedestrian and vehicular movement, and especially affect the elderly, the ill, pregnant women and small children; they're even more restrictive in winter when water accumulation turns dirt areas muddy;

(2) permanent staffed checkpoints; they're fairly constant in number, and Israel has used them to some degree throughout 41 years of occupation; they gained prominence, however, after Israel cancelled general-entry (free movement) permits in 1991; they were then expanded during the Second Intifada; over time, they've become the most conspicuous occupation symbol and one of its most hated;

-- in mid-2007, 80 were in place of which 33 were the last inspection point before entering Israel along the Green Line; the other 47 lie inside the West Bank, some with control towers; seven are to transfer goods; they're called "back-to-back" because merchandise is unloaded on one side, checked, then reloaded on another truck on the other side; operating times vary - many open at 6AM and close at night; others are staffed around the clock but limit crossings to "urgent humanitarian" cases;

-- movement restrictions vary from one checkpoint to another and always at Israel's discretion; to pass, travelers must show proper ID or crossing permits; searches may be conducted; procedures are at the discretion and mood of soldiers; some checkpoints are for pedestrians only; others are restricted to commercial and public transportation.

(3) so-called flying checkpoints; they're temporary, may be erected anywhere, and remain for hours or longer; in recent years, they've increased in numbers - from a weekly average of 73 in late 2005 to 136 in 2006 to about 150 in 2007 and at times up to 200. Again, the pretext is security, their real aim is to harass, and no one does it better than Israelis.

Consider the effects of all checkpoints. Since September 2000, they've become "the main (source of) friction (between) Palestinians and Israeli security forces." They generate tension, create uncertainty, deny or delay passage, humiliate and overall makes things intolerable. They're also degrading by demanding that males expose their upper bodies in public simply as a way to harass them.

It gets worse by selective detentions in so-called "positions" - isolated holding areas for additional "security" checks that, in fact, are to punish and further humiliate; they can last hours, in exposed heat or cold, without food or water, and at times include physical abuse; many Palestinians are affected daily; Israel's high command has full knowledge; the government does as well; nominal recommendations are made to stop it, yet abuse continues and few offenders are ever punished.

(4) the Separation Wall; in June 2002, Israel decided to build it; again the claim was security; in fact, it was separation and theft of over 10% of Palestinian land, including for-Jews only roads to connect settlements with Israel and other settlements; most of the Wall is completed; its planned length is 721 kilometers; only 20% of it lies along the Green Line; most of it runs deep inside the West Bank; near Jerusalem, it surrounds the Ma'ale Adumim settlements about 14 km into the West Bank on stolen Palestinian land;

-- its route creates two kinds of Palestinian enclaves - villages and farmland between the Wall and Green Line (in the "seam zone") on the Israeli side of the barrier; another area comprises villages on the Palestinian side that are surrounded on three or more sides because of the route's winding path or that the Wall meets roads on which Palestinian movement is forbidden or physical obstructions prevent it.

Physical restrictions and movement prohibitions give Israeli security forces more latitude, and they take full advantage through a fourfold layer of control:

(1) by imposing a siege to completely or partially prevent Palestinians from crossing to or from a certain area as well as isolating the area from other parts of the West Bank; it's done with physical obstructions to block access and force residents to pass through staffed checkpoints; closing off the area facilitates sweeping movement prohibitions on specific classifications of people by gender, age or place of residence; the IDF claims their "risk profile" makes them "potential terrorists;" targeting them by siege is a frequently used post-September 2000 tactic; large areas of the West Bank have been affected; their degree of harshness varies; and areas like the Jordan Valley, Area A and cities like Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm and Hebron have been especially impacted.

-- in December 2001, the West Bank IDF commander signed the Proclamation Regarding the Closure of Area (Encirclement) (Area A); it classified it as a closed military area, was unlimited in duration and still remains in force; in April 2007, a separate order was issued for Nablus restricting entry to and exit from the city to certain checkpoints; again the army claims it's a security measure "to prevent terrorists and materiel from leaving Palestinian towns in Judea and Samaria...."

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.