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- October 17, 202614°
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UN says 942 checkpoints in the West Bank restrict Palestinian movement
A network comprising 824 fixed checkpoints and closure points and 118 linear barriers in the occupied West Bank has reached a total length of 107.7 kilometers. Thirteen new fixed checkpoints and gates were added over the past two months, 10 of them in Jenin governorate.
Movement between Palestinian cities, towns and villages in the occupied West Bank is being restricted by a network of 942 checkpoints, gates and barriers. These structures separate communities from one another and from agricultural land.
The network consists of 824 fixed checkpoints and closure points and 118 linear barriers, including earth mounds, trenches and roadblocks. The barriers have a combined length of 107.7 kilometers.
Hebron has 221 fixed points
Hebron has the largest number of fixed checkpoints and closure points, with 221. Ramallah and Al-Bireh have 160, Nablus has 120, Bethlehem has 78, Jerusalem has 62, Qalqilya has 41 and Salfit has 40.
There are 27 checkpoints and closure points in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, 26 each in Jenin and Tulkarm, and 23 in Tubas. Thirteen new fixed checkpoints and gates were added over the past two months, 10 of them in Jenin governorate.
The number of fixed closure points in Jenin rose from 16 to 26. New points were established at Al-Jalama, Arraba, the industrial zone, Deir Abu Daif, the entrance to Jenin city, Qabatiya, Umm al-Tut, the area around the Arab American University and the Zababdeh junction.
New gates were also installed on the Al-Jariyut road west of Ramallah and on rural roads in the western and northwestern parts of the governorate.
Gates and barriers disrupt travel
Movement restrictions are not limited to fixed checkpoints. Iron gates, earth mounds, trenches and roadblocks blocking town and village entrances and agricultural roads cut across main and secondary routes.
This network controls Palestinian travel between cities, towns, workplaces, agricultural land and service centers. Closing a single gate can force residents to take much longer alternative routes; villages and surrounding areas can remain separated from one another for hours or days.
The Palestinian Commission Against Colonization and the Wall documented the installation of gates on Palestinian roads and land by Israeli settlers as well. The commission identified gates in Wadi Hamad, which belongs to Kafr Ni'ma, and east of Umm Safa, on a road leading to the home of a Palestinian family.
The expansion of checkpoints and gates has divided travel within the West Bank into separate routes and areas. Travel between neighboring communities has become dependent on the opening and closing of specific gates and checkpoints.
The number of barriers has increased over the years
After the number of barriers across the West Bank stood at approximately 757 in 2003, it rose to 630 in 2008, 705 in 2018 and 793 in March 2024. Data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 925 barriers in December 2025 and 942 in the latest figures.
The 2025 data included 89 checkpoints operating around the clock, 218 partially operating checkpoints, 232 road gates, 114 linear closures, 167 earth mounds and 105 roadblocks.
The data points to a shift from temporary earth barriers toward more permanent gates and checkpoints. The expansion of the network affects access to agricultural land and livelihoods, as well as students' access to schools, patients' access to hospitals and workers' access to workplaces.
As checkpoints, gates and closure points increasingly intersect with the West Bank's road network, travel distances between nearby communities are growing. Interconnected points can turn a direct route into a longer journey passing through multiple checkpoints.
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