Israeli roadblocks disrupt schools and medical care in West Bank village

Wail Qut, 42, usually commutes to work in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. But for more than two weeks he has been stuck at home in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, due to a tight Israeli siege.

On October 11, the Israeli army blocked the village’s four entrances with earthen barriers, citing “security reasons”. Qut says that the Israeli military has told residents that the restrictions would remain until Palestinian farmers stopped trying to access their land, particularly in the northern part of the village, where an illegal settler outpost is located.

The decision has completely restricted the movement of more than 2,500 residents. On October 20, the army briefly opened the northern entrance for a few hours before closing it once again.

Qut works as a legal consultant for the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center in Ramallah. Three days into the siege, he needed to reach his office in the city to deal with urgent case files.

“The residents managed to clear a rough, unpaved dirt track between Madama and Asira, which I used to reach Ramallah. It was a dangerous gamble, though the area is swarming with settlers, and the path is not even passable for most vehicles,” he told Al Jazeera.

Whenever Palestinian residents attempted to leave Madama via this makeshift route, the Israeli army deployed a drone to monitor them. Soldiers have also attacked the residents and fired sound grenades and tear gas canisters to force them back.

The soldiers have subsequently blocked the dirt track, cutting off the only small opening that had allowed some residents to leave the village. As a result, Qut was forced to spend days away in Ramallah, only returning home once he learned that the northern entrance had been briefly reopened.

“I returned to the village and found settlers everywhere, monitoring the tight siege. Shortly afterwards, the army closed the entrance once again. Some residents who had left were unable to return and had to leave their vehicles outside the village,” he added.

Uprooting trees

The restrictions have coincided with Israeli bulldozing operations that residents say have destroyed agricultural land and uprooted hundreds of olive trees.

Locals in Madama have described the scenes as “horrific”, particularly as they came during the annual olive harvest season, a vital source of income for local farmers already struggling to access their land because of Israeli restrictions.

Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli military for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

Rami Nassar, head of the Madama Village Council, told Al Jazeera that the village spans about 340 hectares (840 acres). He said Israel had seized village land in the 1980s for the establishment of the illegal Yitzhar settlement, while another portion was taken in the 1990s to construct a settler-only road – Route 60 – which now restricts residents’ access to their agricultural land.

Last April, Nassar said, Israeli settlers established an illegal pastoral settlement northwest of the village, near the al-Murabbaa checkpoint. Since then, he said, settlers have been siphoning electricity and water from the village’s utility networks and destroying agricultural crops.

Last July, the council leader added, under the protection of the Israeli army, settler bulldozers levelled what he estimated to have been about 57 hectares (140 acres) of land in the northwest of the village, and uprooted hundreds of mature, fruit-bearing olive trees.

During the current olive harvest season, according to Nassar, Israeli soldiers have chased Palestinian farmers away from their fields, while settlers have stolen both harvested olives and farming equipment from those who managed to reach their land.

“The olive harvest season has come to an end for the people of Madama, a season they rely on entirely, especially given their harsh living conditions. Every year, the harvest felt like a celebration; now, all we see is them bulldozing and uprooting our trees,” Nassar said sorrowfully.

The closures have disrupted daily life in Madama, preventing residents from reaching work, schools and hospitals, while blocking the delivery of essential supplies, including cooking gas, Nassar said.

“A few days ago, a resident suffered a heart attack and needed to be taken to a hospital,” he recalled. “As the village doctor, I had to transport him carrying him over earthen berms and navigate through olive groves and steep slopes in a private vehicle travelling between various villages to reach a nearby hospital. It took over two hours to get him there; under normal circumstances, this journey would take no more than 15 minutes.”

The plight of students

The siege has also disrupted schooling across Madama and neighbouring villages, preventing teachers from reaching classrooms.

Samer al-Jamal, director general of education for the southern Nablus district, said that the closure of roads and gates, combined with the restrictions on the movement of educational staff, had deprived thousands of students of their education.

Three schools in Madama, Burin, and Asira were forced to switch to remote learning for three days following the imposition of the blockade. As the closure continued, students and teachers were eventually compelled to cross earthen barriers on foot to reach their schools.

Maryam Rayan, 48, the principal of al-Fayha Kindergarten in Asira, told Al Jazeera that the simple task of ensuring children could arrive at and leave the kindergarten safely was increasingly dangerous, as 35 of the school’s enrolled children live in Madama.

She explained that she lives in the neighbouring village of Burin. The journey from there, passing through Madama to reach Asira, should typically take no more than eight minutes; however, due to the blockade of Madama, the trip now takes more than an hour and a half.

“The kindergarten bus would have to stop near the earthen barrier after we verified that no soldiers or settlers were present, and we would wait for the children to arrive on a local shuttle from within the village. I would then cross the barrier on foot to help them get over it, one by one. It was a tragic scene, but we had no other choice,” she added.

On the return journey, Rayan would again help the children cross the barrier, boarding the shuttle with them to ensure they all reached their homes safely. Afterwards, she would cross the barrier alone to return to the kindergarten bus, which would then take her back to Burin.

“I have been working in education for 25 years, yet I have never encountered circumstances as difficult as those we have lived through due to the blockade of Madama. From the moment I left my home until I returned, I felt tense, fearful, and anxious, all because I am responsible for the lives of 135 children at the kindergarten, while the streets are filled with soldiers or settlers,” she explained.

On Thursday, Israel reopened the northern entrance to Madama, though Palestinians expect it could be closed again at any moment, especially since the other entrances to the village remain shut. And on Friday, Israel began imposing widespread restrictions on movement throughout the West Bank after an attack in Hebron killed two soldiers, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering preparations for a complete lockdown and a large-scale operation throughout the occupied territory.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had identified 925 physical obstacles restricting the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank by December 2025, including 167 earth mounds, which collectively affect the movement of approximately 3.4 million Palestinians.

The agency noted that these obstacles sever connections between villages, towns, and main roads, forcing residents to take longer, alternative routes and limiting their access to workplaces, essential services, and agricultural land.