Palestinians appeal for international help to lift West Bank town blockade

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has appealed for international action over what it called a “choking siege” on Al-Mughayyir, a town northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The ministry said Israeli forces had closed the town’s entrances for 20 days, allowing residents to move for only two hours each day. It also said ambulances had been barred from entering while Palestinians faced indiscriminate attacks.

Palestinian officials described the restrictions and rising attacks by Israeli forces and settlers as an effort to isolate Al-Mughayyir militarily and economically and force its residents to leave. The ministry said continuing political and legal protection for settlers could fuel wider conflict with uncontrollable consequences.

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This Israeli action is an effort to isolate and besiege the town militarily and economically, as well as force its residents to leave.

The appeal came after three Palestinians were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers in Al-Mughayyir on Friday, according to the ministry. It said Israeli troops and settlers also stopped an ambulance traveling to transport the wounded.

The ministry urged governments to go beyond verbal condemnation. It called for political, legal and economic pressure, international protection for Palestinians, the use of international jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for violations, restrictions on the sale of settlement products in international markets, and action against entities supplying weapons, funds or support to the occupying side.

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We urge the international community and all countries not to limit themselves to verbal condemnation, but to take political, legal and economic measures capable of exerting pressure and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.