Israeli army tightens restrictions on limboed village
Reageer (0)19-2-2010
Qalqiliya - Residents of Azzun Atma, a village in the West Bank surrounded by the separation wall on two sides, settlements on three sides and a road barrier to the south, said Israeli forces guarding the area had recently tightened security procedures in the area.
The Azzun Atma village council said Israeli forces postponed the opening hours for the northern Azzun Atma checkpoint they must pass through to access agricultural land and workplaces in Qalqiliya and surrounding villages. Instead of opening at 4:30am, the checkpoint now opens one hour later.
Villagers say the delay means many cannot arrive to work or school on time. Farmers say the later opening will have an increasingly detrimental affect come summer, when morning hours are the coolest. Witnesses say long lines of workers, farmers and students cue at the checkpoint, all hoping to be the first through.
Residents traveling to nearby towns for groceries also reported being forced to leave purchased goods at the checkpoint, when guards said the quantities they were bringing into the village were above those necessary for personal use. They said residents needed commercial sales permits to bring in larger quantities.
The southern Israeli checkpoint, labeled by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as Azzun Atme 2, has also reduced its opening hours, in addition to the installation of metal detectors and new barriers, villagers say. Used primarily by farmers with agricultural and grazing lands south of the area cordoned off by the Israeli road barrier, the increased security mirrors the increased military infrastructure installed at other agricultural gates like those near Khirbet Jubara.
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