No improvement in Palestinian access to Israeli-occupied W. Bank: UN
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 24 (APP): Despite United Nations’ appeals, Palestinians’ access to Israeli-occupied West Bank land has not improved, with 60 per cent of the area remaining largely off-limits for use and development, according to a new UN report released Tuesday.
“The easing of Palestinian
movement between urban centres is a welcome step,” the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its monthly
update, noting that access still continues to be severely restricted to
and from areas behind the barrier “ which Israel says it is building to
keep out suicide bombers and other attackers” including East Jerusalem
and the Jordan Valley, as well as within the Israeli-controlled area of
Hebron.
“Further measures aimed at
restoring Palestinian control over West Bank space are required in
order to make progress towards the fulfilment of the above
obligations,” it added, referring to Israel’s responsibility under
international law for ensuring the humanitarian needs of people under
its occupation, including the right to free movement, work, housing,
health, education, and to freedom from discrimination.
It called on Israel to take
several initial steps, including revoking the permit regime associated
with the barrier which is partially built on occupied Palestinian
territory, opening up closed military zones and nature reserves for
Palestinian use, lifting access restrictions to the Jordan Valley and
within Hebron, and freezing all settlement activity. Among recent
progress, the report cited the removal of two checkpoints and the
shifting of four others, the relaxation of crossing procedures at most
checkpoints to the east of the barrier, the extension of opening hours,
and the performance of searches and documentation checking on a random
basis only, as well as the removal of 46 earth mounds and roadblocks
that prevented vehicular access to main routes from various
communities. All this resulted in a significant reduction in travel
time between the main urban centres, excluding East Jerusalem.
But the barrier continues
to be the single largest obstacle to Palestinian movement, with no
improvement noted regarding access of Palestinians holding West Bank
identity cards to areas isolated between it and the Green Line [the
border before the 1967 war], including East Jerusalem. Moreover,
although Israel issued additional permits and opened dozens of seasonal
gates for the olive harvest season that started in October,
productivity was hindered due to lack of access throughout the year.
Israeli settlements remain
the most important factor shaping the system of movement and access
restrictions, including the barrier’s route, the report said. As of the
end of October, there were a total of 578 closure obstacles inside the
West Bank, including 69 permanently staffed checkpoints, 21 partially
staffed checkpoints, and 488 un-staffed obstacles such as roadblocks,
earth mounds, earth walls, road barriers and gates, and trenches.
But the report noted that
while the large majority of obstacles are un-staffed roadblocks and
earth mounds, most are designed to channel Palestinian traffic into
staffed checkpoints, making the latter a key component of the closure
system. As a rule, fluctuations in the number of checkpoints provide
only a partial indication, since the ability to move across a given
point varies depending on the policy implemented there. Additionally,
given that the checkpoints along the barrier allow limited access to
areas that would be otherwise blocked, a decrease in the number of
these checkpoints may indicate a deterioration, rather than an
improvement, in freedom of movement, and vice versa.
News 
