Israeli occupation army imposes closure on the West Bank amid continued settler attacks

Ramallah, Sept 27 (KUNA) -- The Israeli occupation army announced today the imposition of a comprehensive closure on the West Bank during what is referred to as the "Feast of Tabernacles." Israeli occupation radio stated that the closure would remain in effect until next Saturday, with plans to reopen crossings and lift the restrictions on the following Sunday.

This announcement coincided with ongoing settler attacks on Palestinians. Early today, settlers set fire to vehicles in the village of Abu Falaq, east of Ramallah. Palestinian local sources reported that dozens of young men from the village repelled the settler attack after the assailants ignited two vehicles and smashed the windows of several homes.

The Resistance Wall and Settlements Authority stated that the occupation authorities issued a new military order targeting 29 dunams of land in the village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah. The order mandates the removal of wild vegetation and the uprooting of olive and fruit trees along a stretch adjacent to the regional road network.

In a related development, the occupation authorities issued another military order today targeting 56 dunams of land in the village of Kafr Malik in Ramallah, ordering the removal of wild vegetation and the uprooting of olive trees under the pretext of "security measures." The Resistance Wall and Settlements Authority noted that the total number of military orders issued by the occupation authorities since the beginning of 2026 has risen to 54, all aimed at removing trees and vegetation.

Settler violence is increasingly intertwined with the restrictions imposed by the occupation on Palestinians in the West Bank, which have intensified in recent months. According to the Resistance Wall and Settlements Authority, in a report stating that "the occupation is reengineering Palestinian movement through an escalating network of barriers and checkpoints," the occupation has established 942 barriers and gates that fragment Palestinian geography. The authority pointed out that settlers have recently shifted from merely benefiting from the army’s checkpoint system to creating their own fixed closure mechanisms within Palestinian territory.

The authority cited the addition of 13 permanent military gates and checkpoints as evidence, nine of which are located in Jenin Governorate alone, an area where the occupation has recently resumed settlement activities after dismantling four settlements in 2005. It stated that "the closure system has evolved in recent years from temporary forms, such as earth mounds and obstacles, to permanent forms consisting of electronic gates and barriers."

Updated data indicates that "the barrier and closure point system in the West Bank has transformed into a vast spatial infrastructure that reshapes Palestinian space itself, imposing increasingly coercive conditions." The authority added that the intensification of barriers, gates, earth mounds, and trenches at the entrances of cities, towns, and villages, as well as on connecting roads, has turned Palestinian geographical connectivity into a network of controlled routes. This effectively divides the West Bank into cantons and besieged enclaves that can be connected, disconnected, or closed at any time.

The authority emphasized that barriers serve not only to prevent passage but also to control access to work, education, healthcare, agricultural land, and service centers. This raises the cost of daily life, restricts opportunities for stability and movement, and contributes to creating a coercive, repulsive environment that makes the continuation of normal Palestinian life increasingly difficult.

Tensions in Israeli rhetoric, marked by threats and intimidation against Palestinians, have escalated with the approach of the so-called "Knesset elections" on October 27. Israeli Finance Minister and extremist government minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to prevent Palestinian vehicle movement on bypass roads designated for settlers. In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Smotrich called for "a comprehensive and direct war in the West Bank" and for committing the same massacres carried out by the occupation army in the Gaza Strip, while demanding the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.

This comes as warnings from the Israeli occupation army intensify, indicating that the situation in the West Bank is nearing a breaking point. (End) N.Q. / N.A.A.