18.2.08: Army places harsh restrictions on movement of residents of the northern West Bank, isolating it from the rest of the West Bank

Since Tuesday, 5 February 2008, the army has placed harsh restrictions on the movement of residents of the northern West Bank in Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm districts, and has prohibited the movement of many people to the center and southern sections of the West Bank. Commander of Forces in the West Bank Brigadier-General Noam Tibon issued a order prohibited men from the Jenin district between the ages 16-35 from traveling south to Nablus and Tulkarm, unless they have a special permit. Such permits are given only in humanitarian cases that meet especially stringent criteria. Testimonies given by local residents to B’Tselem indicate that this prohibition is sometimes applied to both men and women in this age group, and also to residents of Tulkarm District, although the order does not cover them. In addition to the prohibition on traveling to the central and southern sections, in many cases soldiers prevent movement of residents within a district and between the various northern districts. In recent days, similar prohibitions have also been imposed on residents of Qalqiliya. It appears that the restrictions are being applied, without authority and without any legal basis, to a broader population than the one specified in the order and to areas not included in the order.

The army enforces the prohibition by means of many new physical obstacles it has placed over the past week, which channel traffic to staffed checkpoints, through which the prohibited groups are not allowed to pass. For example, the army closed all the roads linking Jenin and the villages north of Tulkarm by means of dirt mounds, boulders, and trenches it built alongside the roads. The only road linking these areas that remains open passes through the village of al-Jerushiya, at the entrance to which the army set up a checkpoint it staffs around the clock. The army has forbidden males from Jenin aged 16-35 to cross this checkpoint, and occasionally has not allowed males and females residing in Tulkarm who are in the same age group from leaving the town. On 14 February, the army imposed a complete curfew on Tulkarm and its environs, and nobody was allowed to enter or leave. During the curfew, which lasted from twelve noon to late in the night, ambulances were not allowed to cross checkpoints around the town. Testimonies given to B'Tselem indicate that the army prevented the crossing of an ambulance that had been summoned to treat Fawazi a-Dark, a resident of Deir al-Ghasun, Tulkarm District, who had apparently suffered a heart attack. Soldiers also prevented her from reaching the ambulance that was waiting for her at Jerushiya Checkpoint. A-Dark did not receive medical treatment and died the same day.
 
The separation of the northern West Bank aggravates already harsh, protracted restrictions. They increase the detachment of the people of the northern West Bank, particularly residents of Jenin, from their sources of livelihood, medical services, schools, and other vital services, and in many cases also from their families. Restrictions on movement imposed on large groups of people constitute collective punishment, which is forbidden under international law.

In response to a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in 2006 regarding restrictions on movement around Nablus, the army argued that, “The restrictions are imposed only in exceptional cases based on a concrete threat – according to which there is information of a terrorist who is about to leave the city of Nablus, and there is no other way to prevent his capture.” Even if the latest restrictions were initially imposed following a concrete warning, the frequency with which they are imposed and the cumulative harm of the separation of the northern West Bank indicate that the army does not properly balance security considerations and the welfare of the civilian population, as required.

At a conference held at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem on 13 February 2008, a number of Israeli security experts and former senior army officers contended that, because of the grave harm to the Palestinians, the damage caused by the checkpoints and the physical obstacles throughout the West Bank is greater than the benefit to security. These experts, among them former heads of the Civil Administration and reserve brigade and battalion commanders, called for removal of the internal checkpoints in the West Bank and implementation of an alternate plan that would enable maximal security for residents of Israel while removing restrictions on movement of Palestinians in the West Bank and encouraging Palestinian economic growth.

B'Tselem calls on the army to remove the sweeping restrictions on movement, cease the separation of the northern West Bank, and refrain from using these measures in the future. The army must find alternate, less harmful means to cope with specific warnings in the shortest possible time while causing as little harm as possible to the local population. In addition, the army must allow passage through checkpoints, without undue delay, of ambulances and injured and sick persons seeking medical care. In addition, the army must not employ any means that are unauthorized and lack a legal basis in army orders. Employing such means entails a violation of the law in and of itself.