{"id":314095,"date":"2026-03-09T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=314095"},"modified":"2026-03-09T06:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T06:11:47","slug":"with-west-bank-under-total-israeli-closure-settlers-are-seizing-the-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/03\/with-west-bank-under-total-israeli-closure-settlers-are-seizing-the-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"With West Bank under Total Israeli Closure, Settlers Are Seizing the Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Palestinians in the village of Qaryut mourn the killing of two residents who were shot dead by an Israeli settler, occupied West Bank, 3 Mar 2026.\u00a0 (Oren Ziv)<\/p><\/div>\n

Israeli settlers have killed two Palestinians and raided dozens of villages amid the war with Iran, as the army restricts movement and backs up the attackers.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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4 Mar 2026 –<\/em> With global attention fixed on the escalating U.S.-Israeli war with Iran<\/a>, Israel has imposed a total military closure on the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to try to expel more rural Palestinian communities from their land, as they did in the days immediately following October 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Within hours of the war beginning on Saturday morning<\/a>, the Israeli army shut all checkpoints across the West Bank and blocked roads between cities and villages with iron gates and earth mounds. It also installed new iron gates in locations where none had previously existed. Settlers brought in excavators to seal makeshift passages Palestinians had carved out over the past two and a half years, in areas where the army has kept roads closed<\/a> since the start of Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, soldiers distributed leaflets to Palestinians in several localities announcing that the army \u201chas imposed a preemptive security cordon around the entire Judea and Samaria area,\u201d banning movement between different West Bank districts \u201cuntil further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

For residents of Ramallah and its surrounding towns and villages, access to the main roads leading to the rest of the West Bank has been cut off entirely. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to leave,\u201d one resident of the city told +972. \u201cI tried to drive out of one checkpoint in the opposite lane, which is used for entering the city, but soldiers caught me, detained me, and searched my car and body.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the village of Duma, east of Ramallah, soldiers and settlers have blocked off the sole exit since Saturday. Residents cannot leave even on foot or transfer between vehicles \u2014 a common workaround at other blocked gates across the West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe army is preventing entry and exit for laborers, children, and the sick,\u201d said Duma\u2019s mayor, Hussein Dawabsheh. \u201cOn Monday, we tried to coordinate the evacuation of an 88-year-old patient, but [the army] refused. The village is surrounded by settlers, so it\u2019s impossible to leave on foot.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a><\/p>\n
An Israeli military gate seen closed at the entrance to the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani. (Mo)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMy son is a doctor, and for nearly a week he hasn\u2019t been able to return to the village,\u201d Dawabsheh continued, adding that cooking gas and food supplies have also been barred from entering. \u201cThe shops are empty. People buy more during Ramadan, but there is nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israeli army also closed an iron gate at the entrance to the village of At-Tuwani on Saturday, cutting off a key route used by residents of neighboring communities across Masafer Yatta<\/a>. Anyone in need of medical care must now attempt to evacuate on foot, while transporting cooking gas, food supplies, and fodder for sheep has become nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

As Palestinian remain under lockdown, Israeli settlers continue to move freely, escalating their attacks on Palestinian communities across Area C. According to the NGO Yesh Din, at least 50 incidents of settler violence were documented in 37 different Palestinian communities during the first four days of the war alone. In almost every instance, settlers operate with the support of the Israeli army \u2014 some of whom are settlers wearing military uniform \u2014 to complete whatever mission they are trying to carry out.<\/p>\n

In response to +972\u2019s inquiry, the army said it \u201crestricts movement on certain [West Bank] roads for security and operational considerations, in order to maintain the security of the area and public order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Planned and systematic\u2019<\/h3>\n

The deadliest attack occurred on Monday in the village of Qaryut, near Nablus. After settlers began uprooting olive trees to pave a new road near Palestinian homes \u2014 a route that would serve a nearby outpost \u2014 several residents tried to intervene.<\/p>\n

Settlers first threw stones at the residents and then opened fire, killing<\/a> two brothers, Muhammad and Fahim Muammar, aged 52 and 48. At least one other resident was seriously wounded by live ammunition. Because of army-imposed roadblocks, ambulances were unable to reach the village and evacuate the wounded for more than an hour.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the army announced<\/a> that the shooter was an \u201cactive reservist in the IDF,\u201d adding that his weapon had been confiscated and that a criminal investigation had been opened. The army would not confirm to +972 whether the soldier belonged to a Regional Defense unit (known in Hebrew as Hagmar<\/a>) \u2014 military battalions composed of settlers who patrol their own communities, which the army established after October 7 due to the transfer of manpower to Gaza.<\/p>\n