Movement and access restrictions

Approximately one-third of East Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents currently live on the other side of the Separation Barrier and permanent crossing points. Immediately following October 7, 2023, all peripheral checkpoints surrounding East Jerusalem were shut down, abruptly cutting off Palestinian residents living beyond the barrier from their urban hub. The placement of additional temporary checkpoints and roadblocks between neighborhoods within East Jerusalem further restricted freedom of movement for Palestinian residents, resulting in their forced isolation.

This state of affairs persisted throughout 2025. For example, on June 14, 2025, the day after Israel’s offensive in Iran began, thousands living in the At-Tur neighborhood, including permanent residents and citizens of Israel, found themselves surrounded by concrete barriers installed at the neighborhood’s main access roads. Anyone seeking to enter or exit by car was forced to travel to Jerusalem on a single narrow, winding, and congested road. No official notification was provided regarding the blockage or its expected duration. Residents who inquired were told that the northern entrance was closed due to stone-throwing by children, and no explanation was offered for the closure of the southern entrance.

Kafr Aqab, a Jerusalem neighborhood home to tens of thousands of permanent residents and citizens of Israel, lies beyond the Separation Barrier. Until the outbreak of hostilities, residents could access Jerusalem via the Qalandiya and Hizma checkpoints; since then, another checkpoint, Al-Jib, has been installed. Travel through these checkpoints is limited and subject to extremely restrictive conditions, a major imposition on the daily lives of tens of thousands of residents. Affected residents, along with ACRI, HaMoked, and Ir Amim, filed a petition against these restrictions in November 2023. The petition is still pending, while checkpoint processes have shown little improvement, even during relatively calm periods.

Restrictions also impede travel for medical reasons and the ability of emergency medical services to access East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Expedited passage is available only to individuals with special permits. These were previously given to individuals with serious medical conditions requiring treatment in Jerusalem, but no new permits have been issued since January 2025.

In August 2025, ACRI and HaMoked submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice on behalf of seven seriously ill patients from Kafr Aqab, seeking permission for expedited passage via the Al-Jib checkpoint. The petition argued that the policy, in practice, was arbitrary, unreasonable, and an infringement on the patients’ rights to life, health, and dignity. Following the petition, several permits were reinstated for critically ill patients. However, systemic flaws remain, and the overall policy lacks consistency.

For more on this subject, including additional efforts to protect the rights of East Jerusalem residents, see: ACRI, East Jerusalem