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The Israeli army has kept the only remaining entrance to the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir closed for 20 consecutive hours, preventing residents from entering or leaving, the head of the village council said Saturday.
Amin Abu Aliya said Israeli restrictions and attacks on residents and farmers had intensified over the past 20 days.
He said the village’s sole entrance was repeatedly closed in the morning to prevent workers from reaching their jobs and later in the day to stop residents outside the village from returning.
Abu Aliya said the measures were creating conditions intended to keep workers outside the village and ultimately force Palestinians from the area.
Abu Aliya said Israeli forces entered Al-Mughayyir on Friday with dozens of military and police vehicles, accompanied by Israeli settlers, following a claim that sheep belonging to a settler had been stolen.
He rejected the allegation as false and said Israeli forces pursued Palestinian livestock owners, raided a home and attempted to seize sheep, triggering confrontations in which Palestinians were injured.
The village entrance has remained closed since the raid, he said, with ambulances and Civil Defense vehicles also prevented from entering during closures.
While residents were dealing with attacks in the southern part of the village Friday, more than 50 Israeli settlers entered the northern area, assaulted a Palestinian farmer, and stole 25 sheep, Abu Aliya said.
Three Palestinians were injured in a settler attack Friday, while Israeli forces and settlers blocked an ambulance heading to transport the wounded.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said earlier Saturday that Al-Mughayyir had been subjected to a “suffocating siege” for around 20 days.
It said Israeli forces controlled access through village gates and at times allowed residents only two hours a day to enter or leave.
The ministry said the restrictions and settler attacks were aimed at isolating Al-Mughayyir and creating conditions for forced displacement.
The occupied West Bank has seen an increase in Israeli military raids and settler attacks against Palestinians since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
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