Hizma: Israeli colonists Wednesday sealed off two roads in Hizma town, northeast of the occupied West Bank city of Jerusalem, according to WAFA correspondent. The colonists, under the protection of the army, closed two entrances of the town using poles and barbed wire, restricting the movement of Palestinian-licensed vehicles.
According to WAFA correspondent, the situation escalated as gun-toting soldiers fired barrages of tear gas canisters at residents who protested the closure of the town's entrances. There was no immediate information available on any casualties or cases of suffocation resulting from the confrontation.
The occupation forces have intensified military measures across the occupied West Bank since the release of the first batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire that went into effect last January. These measures have dismembered and isolated cities and governorates using military gates, barriers, and concrete blocks. The freedom of movement for Palestinians within the occupied West Bank has been severely restricted through a complex network of approximately 898 fixed and flying checkpoints and gates. This includes 18 gates installed since the start of 2025 and 146 others installed following the events of October 7, 2023, along with settler-only roads, over 200 military bases, and various other physical obstructions.
The Israeli military measures coincide with ongoing attacks by Israeli colonists across the West Bank aimed at terrorizing Palestinians and displacing them from their lands. The intent is to seize these lands and build illegal Jewish colonies that further separate Palestinian communities. These closures and other security measures are perceived as efforts to entrench Israel's 58-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and its settler colonial project, which is enforced with routine and frequently deadly violence against Palestinians.
