page_title: Palestinian freedom of movement
section_title: Checkpoints inside the West Bank
hierarchical_section_title: Palestinian freedom of movement / Restriction of movement in the West Bank / Checkpoints / Checkpoints inside the West Bank
caption_attribution_description: English: Howwarah Checkpoint, July 2005 עברית: בידוק הולכי רגל במחסום חווארה, יולי 2005
context_page_description: The restriction of the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by the Israeli government is an issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to B'Tselem, following the 1967 war, the Occupied Territories were proclaimed closed military zones. In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of those territories to move freely between the West Bank, Israel and Gaza. Following the first Intifada by 1991, these general exit orders were revoked, and personal exit permits were required. According to B'Tselem, a measure of overall closure of the Occupied Territories was enacted for the first time in 1993, and would result in total closures following rises in Palestinian political violence.
  In the mid-1990s, with the implementation of the Oslo Accords and the division of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into three separate administrative divisions, there was little change to these restrictions. Comprehensive closures following the outbreak of Second Intifada resulted in a few months of almost complete prohibitions on Palestinian movement into Israel and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
context_section_description: Most of the checkpoints are used by Israel to control the internal movements of Palestinians with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israelis and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing. As of 31 August 2009, according to B'Tselem, the Israeli army had 60 permanent checkpoints inside the West Bank, 18 of them in the city of Hebron. According to B'Tselem, 28 are regularly staffed – some around the clock, some only during the day, and some only a few hours a day. According to B'Tselem, permanent checkpoints form the most severe restriction on movement of Palestinians, who are subjected to checks that often cause prolonged delays and at some checkpoints, soldiers ban every Palestinian from going through except those who carry special permits.
  Many checkpoints only allow the passage of Palestinians who meet certain gender and age-based criteria. Figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), state that there has been an average of 65 random checkpoints in the West Bank each week between September 2008 and the end of March 2009.
caption: Huwwara checkpoint, July 2005
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