Israel Closes Roads, Entrances to Villages in Salfit District of West Bank

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Israeli forces set up military checkpoints and closed several roads to Palestinian traffic, on Sunday, in the northern occupied West Bank district of Salfit, after a shooting attack, in which two Israeli settlers were killed, while the third was severely injured, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel.

A Ma'an news agency reporter said that Israeli forces closed several roads and the entrances of the Palestinian villages of Bidia, Qarawat Bani Hassan, Sarta, and Mesaha, banning the entry and exit of local residents.

Sources also reported that Israeli forces set up military checkpoints and closed a number of entrances to the northern West Bank district of Qalqiliya.

Additionally, the Container checkpoint was closed to Palestinians under the pretext of Israeli forces searching for the Palestinian attacker.

The Container checkpoint, located northeast of Bethlehem district, near the Wadi Nar canyon east of al-Sawahira al-Sharqiya village, is on the only major road open to Palestinians that connects the southern West Bank regions of Hebron and Bethlehem to the central and northern West Bank.

Although there are numerous other roads available to Jewish settlers to move between the two regions, for Palestinians the road is a crucial north-south link, and checkpoint closures can cause delays of many hours for Palestinian commuters. 

Source: Ma’an News Agency