Information on checkpoints and roadblocks

Permanent internal checkpoints

As of 15 Nov. 2008, the Israeli army had 63 permanent checkpoints inside the West Bank, 18 of them in the city of Hebron. 49 are regularly staffed - some around the clock, some only during the day, 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 July 2008, Palestinian travel is restricted or prohibited outright on 430 kilometers of roads in the West Bank, while Israelis are allowed to travel these sections freely. On 137 of the 430 kilometers, the army prohibits Palestinian travel completely; on the remainder of the forbidden roads, Palestinians with permits or who live in East Jerusalem are allowed travel.

 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. Most of these checkpoints are located well inside the West Bank, up to several kilometers from the Green Line.

Source: B'Tselem

Surprise [flying] checkpoints

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there was an average of 89 flying checkpoints in the West Bank each week between September 2007 and the end of April 2008. In comparison, the weekly average between January and August 2007 was 66.

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 risen. The average monthly total for 2008 (January to September) is 537. In 2007, the monthly average was 459, in 2006 it 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