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The Israeli army sealed off the town of Sinjil in the central occupied West Bank on Wednesday after closing the last remaining road linking it to nearby villages, local officials said.
Sinjil Mayor Moataz Tawafsha said Israeli forces blocked the town's final access road with earth mounds, calling the move an "unprecedented" escalation.
He said the closures now extend beyond main entrances to secondary and agricultural roads, leaving Sinjil fully isolated.
According to Tawafsha, Israeli forces have closed six main entrances and 16 secondary and agricultural roads using iron gates, earth mounds and rock barriers as part of an intensified siege on the town.
"In Sinjil, the occupation has not only closed the roads; it is trying to shut access to livelihoods, life, healthcare and education," he said.
Tawafsha accused Israeli authorities of imposing "every form of collective punishment" on Sinjil and said they were seeking to isolate and suffocate its residents.
"What is happening is not merely the closure of roads, but the complete strangulation of the town and an unprecedented escalation that is increasing residents' suffering," he said.
He called on international humanitarian and human rights organizations to urgently intervene to halt what he described as Israel's collective punishment policy in the town, which is located north of Ramallah.
In recent years, Israeli authorities have erected a wire fence along Sinjil's eastern side adjacent to Route 60 and installed gates at its main entrances.
The measures have cut the town off from large areas of agricultural land.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israel had seized about 115 acres of land belonging to Sinjil.
The commission said the land was declared "state land" as part of plans to expand the Karmei Tzur illegal settlement outpost built on the town's land.
Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israeli military operations across the occupied West Bank have killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666 others and led to the arrest of about 23,000 people, according to Palestinian figures.
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