Israel closes Rafah crossing and all other checkpoints in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
The Israeli army on Saturday morning closed all barriers and iron gates it has erected in various areas of the occupied West Bank just as Israel and the US launched their attack on Iran.
The Israeli government's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the body overseeing Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel had decided to close all crossings in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing, until further notice.
The statement added that the decision applies to all Palestinians except those with "essential worker permits", and that these permits would be issued through specific crossings.
Cogat claimed that the closure of the crossings in Gaza wouldn’t affect the humanitarian situation in the Strip.
In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians were stranded at the closed barriers and iron gates until late into the night, with some forced to sleep in their vehicles or at relatives' homes.
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Palestinians were forced to take rough, circuitous routes to return home, while most were unable to reach their workplaces. The transfer of patients to hospitals was also disrupted, and soldiers delayed allowing ambulance crews to transport them.
Khaled Odeh, a resident of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, was returning from work in Nablus on Saturday evening when he was surprised to find all the barriers closed, forcing him to wait for at least four hours in his vehicle.
He told Middle East Eye that he usually takes the main bypass road between Ramallah and Nablus and reaches Birzeit in just 45 minutes, but after the checkpoints closed, he arrived home after several hours.
"I had no choice but to wait in the car. I had to have Iftar alone, as I had some dates with me. Then, after several hours, the soldiers opened the Ein Sinya barrier north of Ramallah, allowing entry into the city only, and I was able to reach my home and family," he added.
Collective punishment
Because of these restrictions, experienced by Palestinians at nearly 1,000 closed barriers and iron gates separating cities, and the resulting inability of students and teachers to reach schools and universities, the Palestinian education ministry announced that classes would move online.
The closure also included the Karameh border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, preventing hundreds of Palestinians, including those returning from the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah, from re-entering the West Bank.
Anas Hreibat from Hebron travelled with his family to Mecca at the start of Ramadan to perform Umrah, but on their return they were met with the crossing’s complete closure. They were left waiting from Saturday morning until Sunday morning in difficult conditions, with nowhere to stay.
"My elderly parents were with me, and we endured great hardship because of the closure. We spent long hours waiting on metal benches. Finally, they partially reopened the crossing only for those stranded, allowing us to return home, but only after a gruelling ordeal," he said.
The Israeli army issued instructions to close Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron until further notice, forcibly removing worshippers and sealing off the sites with metal barriers, just as it did during the war with Iran last June.
Activist Bashar al-Qaryouti told MEE that in times of emergency, Israel has adopted a policy of closing gates and checkpoints, restricting the movement of Palestinians, stifling their freedom to protect soldiers stationed at these barriers from any attacks.
The Israeli army, he said, is enforcing a policy of collective punishment cross the West Bank through total closures that paralyse daily life, deepen the suffering of residents, particularly the sick, and bring all aspects of daily life to a standstill.
"Cutting off aid and food supplies to all areas due to the closure, the duration of which we don’t know, could cause a humanitarian disaster on all levels," Qaryouti said.
"There is also difficulty in transporting patients, including kidney dialysis patients, to hospitals."
Rafah crossing
In Gaza, meanwhile, Israel shut the Rafah border crossing with Egypt until further notice, just one month after it had reopened following more than two years of closure.
The Israeli army seized control of the crossing in May 2024 during its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip, also described the closure of the crossing as a form of collective punishment that further tightens the siege imposed on more than two million civilians.
He said collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law, particularly the fourth Geneva Convention.
Thawabta added the closure of the crossing will worsen the humanitarian crisis by denying thousands of wounded and sick people access to medical treatment, directly endangering civilian lives.
"The continued closure of the Rafah crossing and the resulting severe humanitarian impact constitute a legal, political and moral responsibility for the occupying authorities and demand accountability under established international mechanisms," he said.
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