Photo credit: Sair Town. A closure affecting the Sair area, April 19, 2018.
On April 18, 2018, residents of the Hebron district villages of el Adisa and Beit ‘Anun woke up to discover their villages had been closed with roadblocks by Israeli soldiers.
In el Adisa, Israeli soldiers closed the road with mounds of dirt and cement cubes. Residents expressed shock, saying that nothing had happened recently besides everyday life in the village.
In Beit ‘Anun, Israeli soldiers used an iron gate that the military installed two years ago to block the main road.
Teachers could not reach their classes and university students could not go to school in both villages. All aspects of life stopped.
The closures trapped two thousand residents in their villages and isolated them from the rest of the West Bank. The closure of the entrance to Beit ‘Anun also affected over 40,000 residents of Sair and Ash-Shuyukh.
According to municipal authorities in the towns, it is far too easy for Israeli soldiers to isolate these villages without any pretext.
Photo: A closure affecting the Sair area, April 19, 2018. Photo credit: Sair Town.
A resident of Beit ‘Anun explained the situation to the Alternative Information Center:
For the last two years, since the army built the gate that links Beit ‘Anun to Hebron city, soldiers have closed it from time to time. This time, the village has been closed for three days. The closure makes life very difficult. If we must leave the village, we are forced to take alternative routes that are difficult and long roads. Not only do these journeys take a lot more time, but they also cost more money.
Residents emphasize that when Israeli soldiers close villages to the detriment of thousands of Palestinians for no reason, they are guilty of collective punishment.
Israeli forces also reportedly raided the towns of Yatta, Beit Awwa, Deir Samet and Alkom in the Hebron district.
Ahmad Jaradat is the Senior Project Coordinator of the Alternative Information Center.