Erez Crossing (except for humanitarian cases) or other Israeli-controlled
crossings,150 Palestinians are restricted to use only the Rafah International
Crossing Point which is controlled by Egypt. In March 2016, for example,
the crossing was closed for 31 days, de facto denying the residents of the
Gaza Strip freedom of movement and their right to leave their own country.151
During that time there were over 25,000 Palestinians registered to travel via
Rafah who were waiting for their turn, and many other thousands who want
to travel but did not register.152
The Case of Bani Naim
Closures are also a reality in the West Bank as a form of collective punishment
implemented by Israel either to; punish the hometowns of Palestinians
responsible for an action or attack against Israel or Israelis, prevent movement
when there is a military operation taking place in the area, or sometimes to
protect Jewish-Israelis so that they can celebrate their religious holidays.
Bani Naim is a Palestinian town located near Hebron in the south of the West
Bank. The town was completely sealed on 30 June 2016 following the killing
of a Jewish-Israeli girl in the Kyriat Arba colony of Hebron by a Palestinian
resident of Bani Naim. That same day the office of the Israeli Prime Minister
announced that they were planning to demolish the home of the family of
the alleged attacker, to impose a closure on his hometown, and to revoke the
permits of all his family members.153 Several areas of the Old City of Hebron
were also closed, namely; the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque, Tel Rumeida,
the Jabeir and Abu Sneineh neighborhoods, and the area of al-Sahla154 in
order to allow Israeli settlers to move freely through the Old City of Hebron
during the funeral of the girl killed.155 These closures significantly affected
the daily lives of the thousands of Palestinians that live in the Hebron area. A
complete lockdown to all vehicular traffic was imposed on Bani Naim, closing
all the roads out of the town. Only emergency humanitarian cases were
allowed to cross the checkpoints, which prevented the 20,000 residents of
150 The Erez crossing point is the only Israeli crossing point open to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. It is
only accessible to those with permits, primarily for medical and other humanitarian cases, merchants,
and aid workers. OCHA oPt, Gaza Crossings’ Operations Status: Monthly Update, July 2015. Available
at: https://www.ochaopt.org/documents/GAZA_CROSSINGS_OPERATIONS_STATUS_July_2015.pdf
151 ICCPR, Article 12.2
152 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), State of the Gaza Strip’s border crossings, 1-31
March 2016. Available at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/state%20of%20
crossing%20%20March%202016_0.pdf
153 Ma’an, Israeli forces seal hometown of Palestinian shot dead after stab attack in Hebron, 1 July 2016.
Available at: http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772070
154 Maan, Israel closes areas of Hebron's Old City 'until further notice', 30 June 2016. Available at: http://
www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772066
155 Ibid.
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