Israeli authorities tighten grip on the West Bank amid Iran escalation

“On June 13 the Israeli forces raided my village in Tulkarem, they took over two residential buildings and turned them into military barracks, displacing the people who were living there,” says Karim*, an MSF staff member. “Since then, they have been patrolling the village regularly, conducting investigations, interrogations, arrests, searches, and detentions.”

“Over the past week, West Bank communities have seen their lives further controlled by an occupying power while the world looks away,” says Simona Onidi, project coordinator in Jenin and Tulkarem. “This cannot continue.” 

“I have been working with Doctors Without Borders since 2019 and the commute to work used to take me no more than 40 to 45 minutes by car,” says Sonia Qatari, an MSF staff member. “But now, I find myself stuck at military checkpoints for hours, sometimes getting harassed by settlers at the checkpoints. I live in a constant state of stress. One of the hardest things is being stuck at a checkpoint, thirsty, and afraid to drink because you might need a bathroom — I’ve experienced that more times than I can count.”

The risk of being shot while seeking medical care

On June 13, the day the escalations started, Israeli authorities blocked all major checkpoints and gated road entrances to Hebron for four days. This forced Palestinians, including critically ill people, to walk long distances to seek medical care, and risk being shot at or blocked from crossing altogether. 

“On June 14, I tried to take my brother from Bethlehem to a medical appointment in Hebron—a trip that should take 25 minutes,” says Oday Al-Shobaki, MSF communications officer. “But due to the new Israeli restrictions, all main entrances and exits were closed. It took us three hours, and in the end, despite being very ill, he, like many others, had to walk through a closed checkpoint on foot, which is not safe.” 

MSF has suspended mobile clinics in Hebron and Nablus that provide mental health care, sexual and reproductive care, and basic health care due to these checkpoint closures and security concerns from the intensified military operations. In Jenin and Tulkarem, mobile clinics have had to adapt working hours because of Israeli forces’ presence in nearby villages. This has forced patients to rely on phone consultations.

Israeli raids in the West Bank are nothing new

Military operations and violent raids by the Israeli army have been going on for years in the West Bank. A record-breaking 506 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2023, making it the deadliest year on record, even before the war started in Gaza. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have increased coercive measures and the use of extreme physical violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank including severe movement restrictions, military raids, and systemic barriers to essential services.

In January 2025, the Israeli forces began the ongoing “Iron Wall” military operation in the northern West Bank, violently emptying long-established camps and preventing any return. More than 42,000 people have been forcibly displaced and left without stable homes and with limited access to food, water, and medical care. 

“This latest wave of restrictions and violence over the last week seems to be an opportunity for Israeli forces to entrench control, deepen the fragmentation of Palestinian communities, and further the system that the International Court of Justice has described as amounting to racial segregation and apartheid,” says Onidi. “We urge states to move beyond words of condemnation and put real pressure on Israeli authorities to end excessive force and lift movement restrictions blocking access to essential services and humanitarian aid, and scale-up support for displaced and isolated communities across the West Bank.” 

*Name changed