Long Waiting Hours at the Beit Iksa Checkpoint and Disruption of Citizen Movement

Jerusalem - Afaq News - The movement of citizens to and from the village of Beit Iksa, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, has been experiencing long delays at the occupation checkpoint established at the entrance of the village for several days, amid strict inspection and scrutiny procedures, which has led to a backlog of vehicles and disrupted citizens' access to their homes and workplaces.

Citizens from the village reported that the waiting time at the checkpoint to enter the village reaches about three hours, while in some cases it extends to even longer periods, due to repeated closures and scrutiny of vehicles and citizens' identities.

They added that these procedures are not limited to private vehicles, but have also affected essential service vehicles, as the occupation forces prevent school teachers and bus drivers, in addition to waste transport vehicles and water tankers, from entering the village at various times, which disrupts essential services in the village.

They said that the long wait has become part of their daily lives, as workers, students, patients, and vehicle drivers are forced to account for additional hours to cross the checkpoint, while long queues of vehicles form at the entrance of the village.

The occupation forces had closed the Beit Iksa checkpoint, the main entrance to the village, in both directions during the past days, preventing citizens from entering and exiting, and also preventing a number of citizens from returning to their homes.

These measures come at a time when areas in the northwest of Jerusalem are experiencing tightened restrictions on the movement of citizens, along with the closure of several checkpoints and roads, which increases the suffering of the citizens.