Settlers stop Palestinian vehicles travelling on West Bank roads

Israeli settlers yesterday stopped Palestinian vehicles from travelling along a number of streets in the northern occupied West Bank.

Ghassan Daghlas, the official responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank, said in a press statement that “dozens of settlers were stationed across the road intersections leading to the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank.”

“The settlers are stationed near the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and the Beit Furik checkpoint to the east, on the road between Jenin and Nablus, and near the Annab checkpoint, west of the city.”

He stated that “the settlers blocked the roads to Palestinian vehicles.”

In turn, the Anadolu correspondent reported: “The Israeli army set up a field barrier in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, to prevent the passage of Palestinian vehicles, due to the settlers’ gathering at the Hawara checkpoint.”

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“The bypass road connecting Hawara in the south to Deir Sharaf in the west has been completely closed, due to the settlers’ gathering at Yitzhar settlement.”

“These closures forced the Palestinians to take long alternative roads to reach their homes in the northern West Bank,” he noted.

Since the beginning of March, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories have been experiencing severe tension in light of Israeli attacks, to which the Palestinians have responded.

During that period, the Israeli army killed 17 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while 14 Israelis were killed.

About 650,000 extremist Israelis live in more than 130 settlements that have been built since 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.