IDF roadblock near Nablus (Archive photo)
צילום: רויטרס
IDF presents: Educational punishments
More than 100 Palestinians delayed for five hours by soldiers after attempting to circumvent West Bank roadblocks
Crime and punishment? The IDF "punished" more than 100 Palestinians who attempted to bypass West Bank roadblocks by delaying them for five hours at the settlement of Shavei Shomron, a member of a left-wing group told Ynet, adding that such "educational punishments" are becoming increasingly common.
"The most terrible thing that people in Israel don't understand is that the roadblocks have become a tool for curbing movement," Machsom Watch's Naomi Lalo said. "They check you and tell you to go back in accordance with your place of residence. If you live here, you don't go there, even if you waited two months for a doctor's appointment."
Machsom Watch sends female volunteers to monitor the conduct of IDF soldiers at West Bank checkpoints and assist Palestinian civilians at the roadblocks.
Notably, the plethora of terror warnings ahead of Passover and the general tension across the West Bank are allowing IDF forces to resort to wide-ranging security limitations on Palestinian residents.
"They're not allowing them to live," Lalo said, referring to restrictions of movement imposed on the Palestinians. "They're trying to clear whole areas of Palestinians and get them used to moving underground, or maybe not moving at all."
'Educational punishments'
Lalo says that when Palestinians are not allowed to travel from one area to another, "they try to pass through the hills and then they get caught. More than 100 people were nabbed yesterday and were punished with a five hour delay. They have to live, they try to find alternate routes while dragging their kids to the doctor, en route to relatives, or on the way to work. They're not even going to Israel."
The Machsom Watch activist charges troops take away Palestinians' ID cards and car keys as a form of "educational punishment."
"In Shevi Shomron, they punished women and children by stopping them without water or food, without shading them from the sun or sheltering them from the cold, and there's nobody to talk to," she said.
Lalo says "educational punishments" have become a common phenomenon at West Bank roadblocks.
"The army uses educational punishments all the time," she says.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office issued the following response: "In light of the recent rise in attempts to carry out terror attacks in the State of Israel, it was decided to ensure strict screening at screening points, with an emphasis on northern Samaria, in a bid to prevent attacks…and safeguard Israeli citizens."
"The question of screening is examined daily in accordance with assessments of the situation," the army added.
