Close to 1,000 new barriers have been set up by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank since the start of the genocide in Gaza two years ago, according to a Palestinian government body called the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. 

The commission said 916 gates, barriers, and walls have been erected across the territory since 7 October 2023. 

Many of these barriers are metal gates, sometimes manned by Israeli soldiers, which are put up at many town and village entrances, as well as between West Bank cities. 

The military uses these barriers to control the movement of Palestinians and prevent people from entering or exiting certain areas. 

The UN said last month that it documented the establishment of 18 new gates in the occupied West Bank. 

It also said Israel uses concrete blocks and large earth mounds to restrict Palestinian movement in the territory. Earth mounds are particularly common during the Israeli army’s violent raids in West Bank refugee camps. 

Residents in the village of Aboud told the Washington Post that the gates are closed daily from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, preventing students from reaching university and citizens from reaching their jobs. 

“Under the current circumstances, everything has been cut off. Everything has stopped,” a resident of Deir Dibwan village told the newspaper.

Around three million Palestinians are now forced to make long detours, sometimes taking more than an hour, for a journey not meant to take longer than 20 minutes. 

“This is all part of the occupation's strategy to undermine people's sense of security,” one resident, a taxi driver, said. 

As Israel solidifies its decades-old occupation, settler violence continues to escalate with the backing of the military.

In recent weeks, Palestinian olive harvesters have come under increased aggression by settlers. Earlier this month, harvesters were attacked by settlers in the village of Kafr Thulth. Shepherds were also assaulted, and a number of their goats were killed by settlers. 

Olive farmers from Farata were also shot at with live ammunition by settlers recently. The Israeli military has backed and contributed to the settler campaign against harvesters. 

The Israeli military has uprooted thousands of olive trees in the village of Al-Mughayyir, which comes under constant attacks by settler lynch mobs aiming to displace families from their land. 

In January this year, Israeli troops launched a massive operation in the occupied West Bank cities of Tulkarem and Jenin. The months that followed have seen Tel Aviv displace tens of thousands of civilians from the two cities and destroy massive amounts of civilian infrastructure in a targeted demolition campaign. 

Residents have not been allowed to return to their neighborhoods.

In response to a recent surge in resistance activity in the occupied West Bank, Israel has escalated its raids and has ordered the military to “take all necessary measures” against “terrorists.”

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it assassinated three “terrorists” from the Jenin refugee camp, in a joint operation with the Shin Bet security service and the Yamam border police unit.