Lives in Limbo: How Israeli Checkpoints and Iron Gates Are Turning Hebron Into a Ghost Town

Badr al-Tamimi, 60, lives in Hebron’s Old City, where Israeli checkpoints, iron gates, and road closures turn the simplest tasks into a dispiriting daily ordeal for Palestinian residents. The situation goes beyond mere restrictions on movement, as Israel has created a ghost town in parts of Hebron where residents feel they are being driven out. This is most pronounced in the H2 area, where Israel has complete control and Palestinians are subject to the dictates of the military.

Recently, Israeli authorities installed three iron gates across a 200-metre stretch of Hebron’s Old City as part of ongoing attempts to restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement. Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari told Al Jazeera that one gate was erected on al-Zahid Road, a second at the start of al-Shalala Street, and a third over another section of al-Shalala Street. These measures form part of a wider web of travel restrictions across the occupied West Bank, with Hebron suffering disproportionately due to its strong settler presence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 40 percent of West Bank checkpoints and 11 percent of movement obstacles are located in H2.

About 7,000 Palestinians in this zone are affected by the travel restrictions. Since October 2023, when the war on Gaza began, only Palestinians with specific identification numbers have been permitted to enter, and checkpoints are generally open only from 7am to 8pm. Al-Tamimi, who lives in the al-Sheikh neighbourhood near the Ibrahimi Mosque and owns a shop in the Old City, notes that commute times often depend entirely on the moods of the soldiers manning the checkpoints. Repeated closures have severely crippled economic activity, transforming the once-bustling city since the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre.

Issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group, stated that these restrictions effectively hold residents hostage. Mayor al-Jabari added that approximately 10,000 Palestinians are now affected across the Old City and surrounding closed zones, facing vehicle bans and frequent curfews. Meanwhile, restrictions continue to hinder daily life, work, and education, affecting individuals like Ayat al-Jabari, a 40-year-old science teacher who is regularly forced to take long and difficult routes through a cemetery to avoid checkpoints.