Wail Qut, 42, usually commutes to work in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. But for more than two weeks he has been stuck at home in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, due to a tight Israeli siege. On October 11, the Israeli army blocked the village’s four entrances with earthen barriers, citing “security reasons”.
Qut says that the Israeli military has told residents that the restrictions would remain until Palestinian farmers stopped trying to access their land, particularly in the northern part of the village, where an illegal settler outpost is located. The decision has completely restricted the movement of more than 2,500 residents. On October 20, the army briefly opened the northern entrance for a few hours before closing it once again.
Qut works as a legal consultant for the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center in Ramallah. Three days into the siege, he needed to reach his office in the city to deal with urgent case files. It was a dangerous gamble, though the area is swarming with settlers, and the path is not even passable for most vehicles,” he told Al Jazeera.
Whenever Palestinian residents attempted to leave Madama via this makeshift route, the Israeli army deployed a drone to monitor them. Soldiers have also attacked the residents and fired sound grenades and tear gas canisters to force them back. The soldiers have subsequently blocked the dirt track, cutting off the only small opening that had allowed some residents to leave the village.
As a result, Qut was forced to spend days away in Ramallah, only returning home once he learned that the northern entrance had been briefly reopened. Shortly afterwards, the army closed the entrance once again. Some residents who had left were unable to return and had to leave their vehicles outside the village,” he added.
The restrictions have coincided with Israeli bulldozing operations that residents say have destroyed agricultural land and uprooted hundreds of olive trees. Locals in Madama have described the scenes as “horrific”, particularly as they came during the annual olive harvest season, a vital source of income for local farmers already struggling to access their land because of Israeli restrictions. Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli military for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
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