Access, Mobility, and Fragmentation
Closure and Access to Jerusalem
Jerusalem is known as an open, international, “city of peace.” For millions of Palestinians, however, it is a closed city, virtually unreachable, as unknown and unknowable as the sea. Here we explore closure, Israel’s system that controls movement based on identity and thereby profoundly alters the fabric of the city and its hinterland.
Featured in This Topic
Closure, a “temporary” measure introduced in 1991, is the system that controls Palestinians’ movement and blocks millions from accessing Jerusalem.
What is closure, and how does it block Palestinians with certain IDs from moving freely? We asked Yael Berda, who worked within and studied this little-understood bureaucracy.
How hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are banned from ever entering Jerusalem
What’s the experience of traversing a checkpoint really like, minute by agonizing minute? And what does it do to your soul? Helga Tawil-Souri narrates.
An overview of the complex web of 18 military checkpoints around Jerusalem that control and constrain Palestinian access to the city
An interactive map of the checkpoints around Jerusalem that control Palestinian access to the city
Use the magnifier box in the bottom left-hand corner to view the map full screen. Zoom in to view the localities’ and checkpoints' names. Click on the Legend in the upper right to view and manipulate the various map layers.
The closure of Jerusalem means severe hardships for those outside the city who seek care that is only available in it. Salma, a cancer patient, shares.
The agony and dehumanizing experience of the “morning commute” for Palestinians who hold Palestinian Authority (PA) ID cards and must enter Israel to feed their families.
A young pregnant woman summons inner strength to get around a checkpoint while on the verge of giving birth.
A seven-year chronicle of the surreal world of Qalandiya checkpoint and all its everyday humiliations, indignities, and absurdities
A young man shares his lifetime of experience of dealing with Israel’s closure of Jerusalem and how it has impacted his entire life.
Rinad’s story shows how closure steals time, lives, and livelihoods, and robs Palestinians like her of the chance to enjoy and engage with their own city.
The Story in Numbers
32 Years
Since the first closure of the West Bank and Gaza in January 1991, and the introduction of the permit regime [1]
18
Checkpoints controlling access to Jerusalem [2]
26,000
Estimated number of Palestinians who pass through Qalandiya checkpoint, the major access point between Ramallah and Jerusalem, each day [3]
3
Number of checkpoints that all Palestinians with PA IDs are allowed to use to access Jerusalem [4]
15,000
Estimated number of Palestinians who pass through Checkpoint 300, the major checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, each day [5]
4.6 million
Palestinians living within the occupied West Bank and Gaza who cannot enter Jerusalem without a permit [6]
100+
Types of permits required for Palestinians with Palestinian Authority IDs to move from place to place for every possible life circumstance [7]
0
Types of permits required for Jews with Israeli IDs to move from place to place [8]
500,000+
Palestinians banned permanently from Jerusalem for 1–99 years [9]
Notes
1. See Jerusalem: A Closed City.
2. See Checkpoints, Part 1: Severing Jerusalem.
3. Harrison Jacobs, “I Took the Excruciating 10-mile Journey through Israel’s Most Notorious Military Checkpoint That Adds Hours to the Daily Commute for 26,000 Palestinians,” Business Insider, August 7, 2018.
4. See Checkpoints, Part 1: Severing Jerusalem.
5. ActiveStills, “Checkpoints: Israel’s Military Checkpoints: ‘We Live a Life of Injustice,’” Al Jazeera, 2018.
6. See The Unreachable City.
7. See Jerusalem: A Closed City.
8. See Closure and the Dismemberment of Jerusalem.
9. See Banned from Entry.
Israel claims that it allows access to Muslim holy sites for those with PA IDs who wish to pray. But how true was this during Ramadan 2023? A snapshot.
Teresa, 22, lives in Ramallah, but she’s never seen nearby Jerusalem due to Israel’s Separation Wall and permit regime. What lies behind the wall?