UN: Israel has 849 checkpoints in occupied West Bank

The Israeli occupation has established a total of 849 checkpoints across the occupied West Bank, with gates blocking roads constituting a third of these obstacles, most of them are frequently closed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories has said.

In its latest update on the humanitarian situation in the occupied West Bank, OCHA said a rapid survey conducted in January and February revealed that Israel has established “849 movement obstacles” which are permanently or intermittently controlling, restricting and monitoring Palestinian movement in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the H2 area of Hebron.

According to the survey, 36 new movement obstacles have been set in the period between December 2024 and February of 2025, the majority following the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire in mid-January 2025, further impeding access by Palestinians to basic services and workplaces.

READ: Israel approves plan to separate 13 settlement outposts in occupied West Bank

“Significantly, a total of 29 new gates have been installed across the West Bank, either as new stand-alone closures or added to existing partial checkpoints, bringing the overall number of open or closed road gates across the West Bank to 288, constituting a third of movement obstacles. Of these, about 60 per cent (172 out of 288) are frequently closed gates,” it said.

Furthermore, the survey noted the increase in the number of installed obstacles, the intensification of movement restrictions leading to prolonged delays at checkpoints, the intermittent closure of key access points connecting population centres across the West Bank, and an increase in the number of closures that are frequently closed.

The report highlighted the documented obstacles as follows: 94 checkpoints staffed 24/7; 153 partial (intermittently staffed) checkpoints (of which 45 have frequently closed gates); 205 road gates (of which 127 are frequently closed); 101 linear closures (such as earth walls and trenches); 180 earth mounds; and 116 roadblocks.

READ: Over 5,350 violations committed by illegal Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank in past decade: Report