The town's mayor says the closure isolates Sinjil after troops sealed its final access route, calling the move an 'unprecedented escalation' of Israel’s collective punishment policy.
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, according to local officials.
Sinjil Mayor Moataz Tawafsha said Israeli forces blocked the town's final access road with earth mounds, describing the move as "unprecedented."
He said the closures now extend beyond main entrances to secondary and agricultural roads, leaving the town completely isolated.
Town left completely isolated
According to Tawafsha, Israeli forces have closed six main entrances and 16 secondary and agricultural roads with 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 cut off access to livelihoods, healthcare, education and daily life," he said.
Tawafsha accused Israeli authorities of imposing "every form of collective punishment" on the town and attempting 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 added.
He called on international humanitarian and human rights organisations to intervene urgently to halt what he described as Israel's policy of collective punishment in the town, located north of Ramallah.
Israel seizes land for settlement expansion
In recent years, Israeli authorities have erected a wire fence along Sinjil's eastern side near Route 60 and installed gates at its main entrances, cutting 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 (46.5 hectares) of land belonging to Sinjil and declared it "state land" as part of plans to expand the Karmei Tzur illegal settlement outpost built on the town's land.
Since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 1,173 Palestinians have been killed, 12,666 injured and around 23,000 arrested in Israeli attacks across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.
