Israel closes access to Al-Mughayyir in West Bank for 20 hours
Ramallah/Istanbul (ANTARA) - Israeli troops have closed the only remaining access point to the village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank for 20 consecutive hours, preventing residents from both entering and leaving.
The head of the Al-Mughayyir Village Council, Amin Abu Aliya, told Anadolu on Saturday that restrictions and attacks against residents and farmers in the village have increased over the last 20 days. He stated that the village’s sole remaining access point is repeatedly closed in the morning to prevent workers from going to their jobs, and closed again in the afternoon to prevent those outside from returning home.
According to Abu Aliya, these measures aim to create conditions that force workers to remain outside the village, ultimately encouraging Palestinian residents to abandon the area. He reported that Israeli forces raided Al-Mughayyir on Friday with dozens of military and police vehicles alongside Israeli settlers, alleging that a settler’s sheep had been stolen.
Abu Aliya denied these allegations. However, Israeli forces continued to pursue Palestinian livestock owners, raided a house, and attempted to seize sheep, leading to clashes that left several Palestinians injured. He added that Israeli forces have continued to block access to the village since the raid, also prohibiting ambulances and Civil Defence vehicles from entering the village during the closure.
Abu Aliya further noted that while residents faced attacks in the southern part of the village on Friday, more than 50 Israeli settlers entered the northern area, attacking a Palestinian farmer and stealing 25 sheep.
Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that Al-Mughayyir has been under a “strict siege” for approximately 20 days. The Ministry stated that Israeli forces control access through the village gates, sometimes only allowing residents to enter or leave for two hours each day.
The restrictions and attacks carried out by Israeli settlers are intended to isolate the village and create conditions that encourage forced displacement, according to the ministry. On Friday, three Palestinians were injured in settler attacks in Al-Mughayyir, but Israeli forces and settlers blocked ambulances attempting to transport the wounded.
The occupied West Bank has seen an increase in Israeli military operations and settler attacks against Palestinians since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.