Israeli Holidays Mean Stricter Limitations on Movement for Palestinians

Checkpoints Closed or Moving Very Slow

Palestinians wait at the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah during a closure in the West Bank. Image Courtesy: © Shabtai Gold/IRIN

For the image shown above in a larger size, please see: Palestinians wait at the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah during a closure in the West Bank. More BBSNews images are available in BBSNews Photos.

BBSNews 2008-05-07 -- JERUSALEM (IRIN) Israelis commemorating national and Jewish religious days would like to do so in peace, without having to fear attacks by Palestinian militants. However, for Palestinians, the neighbors' holidays mean ever stricter limitations on their movements.

In the past few months, the holidays of Purim and Passover, as well as Holocaust Memorial Day, all translated into "general closures" on the occupied Palestinian territory.

"Every checkpoint is so slow today," remarked a taxi driver, inching his way through roadblocks on Holocaust Day.

Checkpoints where spot-checks were the standard method of control, suddenly created long queues as each car, and in many cases each passenger, was checked. Places known as being tough junctions on a good day were turned into long serpentine queues, causing most people to simply give up.

"When there is a closure, and we know the delays will be for hours, we just stay at home or don't leave the city, because we know it is not worth it," said a man from Nablus.

The problems are worse when the Palestinians are unaware of a closure in advance, and only find out when reaching a checkpoint, causing intense frustration. In general, Israel announces its plans in advance and Palestinian radio stations let their listeners know what to expect.

This week, Israel will mark Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers and then Independence Day. Visits by high-ranking dignitaries, including US President Bush, set to arrive in about a week, often slow things down further.

The Israeli military announced a closure "in light of security assessments" from 5-8 May as it was "a highly sensitive time" though it would try to preserve "the daily life of the Palestinian population".

A brutal suicide bombing at an Israeli hotel dining room at the coastal city of Netanya in 2002, during the main feast of Passover, left 30 people dead and created a collective Israeli scar. The Netanya bombing is often cited by Israeli officials as a primary reason why the holidays mean a lock-down for the Palestinians.

"All these restrictions could be avoided if there were no terrorist organizations on the other side," Shlomo Dror, the spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Defense, told IRIN. He said Israel wanted as many soldiers as possible home for the holidays, and that required security arrangements in which fewer troops were needed.

A primary impact of the "general closure" was a complete ban on Palestinian entry to Israel, except for humanitarian cases. As most Israelis were on vacation during the holidays, Dror felt the Palestinians did not require access to Israel, as their places of employment would be closed.