Bethlehem: Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday evening blocked the main entrance to the western countryside of Bethlehem governorate, according to local sources.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Rami Hamamreh, head of the Husan Village Council, reported that the occupation forces sealed off the entrance at the al-Shouli area using an iron gate. This road serves as the main access route to the towns of Battir and Nahhalin, as well as the villages of Husan and Wadi Fukin. The presence of gun-toting soldiers led to severe traffic congestion as they stopped Palestinian-licensed vehicles, searched them, and checked passengers' ID cards.
The occupation forces have intensified military measures across the occupied West Bank following the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire, which went into effect on January 19. These restrictions have been further tightened since the onset of the Israeli-Iranian war. Cities and governorates have been dismembered and isolated from one another using military gates, barriers, and concrete blocks.
Israeli military measures coincide with ongoing attacks by Israeli colonists across the West Bank, aiming to terrorize Palestinians and displace them to seize their lands and build illegal Jewish colonies, thereby separating Palestinian communities. Israel imposes severe restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement within the occupied West Bank through approximately 898 fixed and flying checkpoints and gates. This includes 18 gates installed since the start of 2025 and 146 others added after October 7, 2023. The infrastructure also includes settler-only roads, over 200 military bases, and various other physical obstructions.
These closures and other measures, purportedly taken for security reasons, aim to entrench Israel's 59-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and its settler colonial project. This occupation is enforced with routine and frequently deadly violence against Palestinians.