Description

An iron gate restricting access for farmers to their land in Nablus.
(MaanImages/file)

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by Chris Carlson - 1 of International Middle East Media Center Editorial Group

[Tuesday, January 28, 2014] Israeli forces, on Tuesday, erected an iron gate at the main entrance to the Bethlehem village of Nahhalin.

Locals told Ma'an News Agency that, in 2001, Israeli forces blockaded a road connecting the village to Hebron.

On Tuesday, they removed the earth mounds blocking the road and replaced them with an iron gate, which is expected to give villagers access to Route 60, a main highway running the length of the West Bank.

Villagers had to previously travel via the nearby villages of Husan and al-Khader to reach Bethlehem, although the new gate is expected to be open for only eight hours a day.

At any given time there are about 100 permanent Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, while surprise flying checkpoints often number into the hundreds.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.