RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem yesterday said that Israeli forces have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the northern West Bank in response to the suicide bombing in Dimona on Feb. 4 in which an Israeli woman was killed.
B’Tselem said in a press statement that in the districts of Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm, all Palestinian men between the ages of 16-35 are prevented from leaving the area without special permits, which are rarely granted. Testimonies taken by B’Tselem indicated that during the past two weeks, these restrictions have also been imposed on women of this age group. In the past few days, similar restrictions have been introduced in the city of Qalqilyah.
In order to enforce these restrictions, B’Tselem notified, the Israeli Army has erected many new physical obstacles in this area. Dirt piles and boulders block passage of cars and enable them to travel only via staffed checkpoints, where the age restrictions on movement are enforced.
According to B’Tselem, these restrictions disrupt daily life for tens of thousands of people and particularly harm the wage-earning population and those in need of medical care.
“Israel has the right and the obligation to protect its population from attacks by Palestinian militants, and this includes the right to impose targeted restrictions on movement in response to concrete threats. However, even if these restrictions were initially imposed due to concrete warnings, the scope and duration of the current restrictions strongly suggest that the military is not properly balancing security needs with the welfare of the civilian population, as it is legally required to do,” the organization said in a statement.
B’Tselem affirmed that “the (Israeli) military must find less harmful measures which will enable it to respond to localized warnings in the shortest time possible while causing the least harm to the Palestinian population. Furthermore, the military must at all times enable passage of ambulances, the sick and the wounded.”
Meanwhile, Israeli internal security service Shin Bet has decided to reinforce the security measures around Israeli ministers for fear that Hezbollah would attempt to avenge the murder of Imad Mughniyeh, the daily Yediot Ahronot reported yesterday.
Shin Bet decided that Israeli ministers will be accompanied by security guards during their private vacations abroad. The main fear is that the Lebanese group would target any Israeli minister, a Knesset (parliament) member or a current or former defense official.
