Israeli occupation forces close entrance to Atara village north of Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Nov. 16 (YPA) – Israeli occupation forces closed the iron gate at the entrance of the village of Atara, north of Ramallah, early Sunday morning, further restricting Palestinian movement in the area.

According to Palestinian sources, the closure of the main entrance to the Atara gate forced locals to take long detours to reach their destinations.

The gate serves as a key entry point for several Palestinian villages in the western part of the Ramallah district, including Beit Rima, Deir Ghassaneh, Kafr Ein, and Qarawat Bani Zeid, as well as the town of Salfit and its surrounding villages.

In addition, Israeli occupation forces set up a checkpoint near the Halamish settlement, built on the land of the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh.

Several vehicles were stopped and searched, with soldiers checking the identification of passengers, further disrupting the movement of Palestinians in the area.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission revealed in a report last month that the total number of permanent and temporary Israeli military checkpoints, gates, and barriers across the occupied West Bank has reached 916, including 243 iron gates erected since October 2023.

These restrictions continue to severely limit the movement of Palestinian civilians and goods, exacerbating the hardships of daily life under occupation.

@E.Y.M