Information on checkpoints and roadblocks

Permanent internal checkpoints

As of May 2008, the Israeli army had 62 permanent checkpoints inside the West Bank, 16 of them in Hebron. Forty-six are regularly staffed, some around the clock, some during daytime hours, and some only a few hours a day. Permanent checkpoints form the most severe restriction on movement of Palestinians, who are subjected to checks that often cause prolonged delays. At some checkpoints, soldiers bar all Palestinians from crossing except those who have special permits.

At the end of April 2007, the army announced that, as of May, it would cancel the restriction on Palestinians entering the Jordan Valley. In practice, however, there are still some checkpoints restricting entry into the area, except for vehicles with permits, and others that allow only pedestrians to enter.

As of August 2007, there were 24 sections of roads in the West Bank, covering a total of 311 kilometers, on which Palestinian travel is restricted or prohibited outright, while Israelis are allowed to travel these sections freely.

 Source: B'Tselem

Checkpoints along the Green Line

In addition, the army operates 40 permanent, staffed, around-the-clock checkpoints that are the last control points between the West Bank and Israeli sovereign territory. Several of these checkpoints are located well inside the West Bank, up to several kilometers from the Green Line.

As of November 2007, there were 67 gates in the Separation Barrier. The army only allows Palestinians to use half of them, provided they have a permit. The gates available for Palestinian use are open only part of the day. 

Source: B'Tselem

Surprise [flying] checkpoints

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there was an average of 85 flying checkpoints in the West Bank during the week of 26 March to 1 April 2008. In comparison, the weekly average in November 2007 was 69 and in September 2007, the weekly average was 141.

Source: OCHA

Physical obstructions

In addition to staffed checkpoints, the army has erected hundreds of physical obstructions (dirt piles, concrete blocks, boulders, trenches, fences, and iron gates) to block access to main roads and channel Palestinian traffic to staffed checkpoints. In recent years, the number of these obstructions has gradually increased. In mid-March 2008, there were 512 physical obstructions in the West Bank. In 2007, the monthly average was 459, in 2006 the monthly average was 445, and in 2006, 410. Unlike staffed checkpoints, security forces are not present at the obstruction to exercise discretion, even in emergency cases, on whether to permit passage.

Source: OCHA