From the Karama Crossing to the Iron Gates: The Weapon of Law Against Suffocation

Author

Raed Abu Eid

In the West Bank, the (Karama/Allenby) crossing is not an ordinary outlet, but the only artery connecting three million Palestinians to the world. When Israel justified its closure or limited it to 8 AM to 2 PM, it was not a logistical measure, but a collective punishment affecting healthcare, education, trade, and family reunification. However, this same policy is repeated internally through the iron gates at the entrances of villages, cities, and camps, which turn communities into isolated islands. According to OCHA, there are 942 checkpoints and obstacles, more than 40% of which are iron gates, with 120 new gates planned for 2025 alone. In the Al-Arroub camp, four gates control a camp that houses more than 14,000 residents. In Al-Fawwar, the camp has been closed since October 2023, only opening intermittently. These are not security measures, but systematic strangulation engineering.

The Israeli airport authority cited a lack of staff and logistical issues, claiming that Jordan only sends 50 buses daily, which the Palestinian defense denied entirely. The Israeli Supreme Court later rejected the claim that the limited hours achieve a fair balance. Thus, it becomes clear that the justifications are political, not technical.

At the heart of the confrontation, Palestinian businessman Nasar Nasar, head of the Coordinating Council of Private Sector Institutions, filed a petition before the Israeli Supreme Court against the policies of closure and restriction, demanding an extension of working hours and the opening of the crossing. The court partially responded, obligating the airport authority to provide a report on staff recruitment and extended actual working hours. Although the decision was not complete, it constituted a judicial acknowledgment that the status quo is unacceptable, and it sets a precedent that can be repeated.

This experience carries a central lesson: Israeli courts, despite their connection to the occupation system, are not immune to influence when presented with well-documented files of numbers and facts. Human rights organizations such as 'Hamoked', 'Adalah', and 'B'Tselem' have done the same with the iron gates and the wall, through petitions to force the state to provide its justifications and expose the falsehood of security pretexts. Even when some petitions are rejected, merely forcing the authorities to explain themselves before the judiciary constitutes pressure and exposure.

Most importantly, the struggle does not stop at the Israeli courts. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits arbitrary restrictions on civilians, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees freedom of movement, while the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in 2024 confirms the illegality of the occupation and calls for the opening of crossings. This legal accumulation can be transformed into lawsuits before international and local courts, and into diplomatic and human rights pressure.

Palestinians do not seek a privilege, but a right to life. Every ceremonial act of oppression — from reducing the hours at the Nabi crossing to erecting an iron gate at the entrance of a village — is subject to undermining if all means are used: law, media, popular movement, and diplomacy. A people that loves life will not lack means, nor will it know despair. The battle over crossings and gates is a battle for existence itself, and a living people that loves life never surrenders.