West Bank Town
A towering five-metre-high metal fence now carves through the heart of Sinjil, a Palestinian town nestled in the hills of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Erected along the town’s eastern edge, the fence is accompanied by heavy steel gates and roadblocks that seal off all access points—except for one narrow route guarded around the clock by Israeli soldiers. For the town’s 8,000 residents, the new barrier has transformed daily life into what many now describe as imprisonment.
“Sinjil is now a big prison,” lamented 52-year-old Mousa Shabaneh, a father of seven, as he stood helplessly near the fence, which now bisects the nursery where he once cultivated and sold trees. “We’re now forbidden from going to the nursery. All the trees I had were burned and lost. In the end, they cut off our livelihood,” he said.
According to Bahaa Foqaa, Sinjil’s deputy mayor, the barrier has confined residents to a mere 10 acres of land, effectively cutting them off from 2,000 acres of private agricultural land that once sustained their economy.
Locals must now navigate winding streets to reach the only entry and exit point—many even walking across sealed roads to reach vehicles parked on the other side.
The Israeli military defends the fence, citing a rise in what it terms “terror incidents” along the Ramallah-Nablus highway, which runs adjacent to the town. Officials argue the barrier is meant to prevent stone-throwing and ensure public safety. They claim that since residents can still access the town via a single controlled entrance, the policy allows for “free access.”
But for Sinjil’s residents, the reality is starkly different. With checkpoints and roadblocks multiplying across the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Palestinians say they are increasingly living under conditions of siege. Temporary “flying checkpoints” now pop up unexpectedly, turning short commutes into hours-long ordeals.
Sana Alwan, a personal trainer and resident of Sinjil, says her once short drive to Ramallah can now take up to three hours each way. “Half of our life is on the roads,” she said. With travel times so unpredictable, she can no longer keep appointments with clients reliably, and her work has suffered as a result.
Palestinian officials argue that the restrictions go beyond security concerns and are part of a broader strategy to suffocate Palestinian life and suppress resistance. “They are doing everything they can to make life extremely difficult for our people,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
Israel maintains that its increased security measures are essential to protect Jewish settlers living in the West Bank. Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, which oversees 47 Israeli settlements near Sinjil, defended the fence, claiming it was a response to attacks on Jewish drivers. “Lifting restrictions on Arab Palestinians would encourage the mass murder of Jews,” he told Reuters.
Currently, nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers reside in territories captured during the 1967 war, including the West Bank. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal under international law, but Israel argues they are justified by historical and biblical ties.
Since October 2023, the West Bank has seen increased military presence, new permanent checkpoints, and a near-total ban on Palestinian workers entering Israel—measures that have crippled the economy and displaced tens of thousands. For residents like Mohammad Jammous, who used to visit his family in Jericho weekly, the restrictions have severed ties and reshaped routines. “Now I can only go once a month, maybe,” he said.
As fences go up and roads close down, life in the West Bank becomes increasingly suffocating. For the residents of Sinjil, a fence meant to offer “security” has instead trapped an entire town—isolated from its land, its economy, and the freedom of movement that once defined everyday life.
