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Photo:
Scene. Published by Maan News
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SALFIT (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces Thursday evening closed all entrances of the village of Marda in the northern occupied West Bank Salfit district, preventing Palestinian residents from leaving or entering the village.

Ahmad Ibdah, a resident of Marda, told Ma’an that Israeli forces prevented him from going into the village after closing all the iron gates at the entrances of the village.

Ibdah said a soldier told him that the closure would be maintained until a further notice, and was being enforced because of rocks being thrown from the area at passing Israeli settler vehicles.

Ibdah added that the village is constantly raided by Israeli soldiers for alleged rock-throwing incidents, and that Israeli forces close the iron gates of the village for days, and open them only after intervention by the Palestinian liaison.

The Marda village is surrounded by a separation fence from all sides in order to separate the village from the nearby illegal Ariel settlement.
An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into reports.

Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis -- or of being affiliated with alleged Palestinian attackers -- face arbitrary punishments in the form of road closures and the sealing of entire villages, resulting in serious economic consequences and effects on mobility that rights group have labeled “collective punishment,” representing a clear violation of international law.