Layan Bsharat and Tarek Chouiref
30 August 2026•Update: 30 August 2026
The Israeli army has kept the sole remaining entrance to the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank closed for 20 consecutive hours, preventing residents from entering or leaving, an official told Anadolu on Saturday.
Amin Abu Aliya, head of the Al-Mughayyir village council, said Israeli restrictions and attacks on residents and farmers have intensified in the last 20 days.
He said the village’s only remaining entrance is repeatedly closed in the morning to prevent workers from reaching their jobs and later in the day to stop those outside from returning.
Abu Aliya said the measures were aimed at creating conditions that force workers to stay outside the village and ultimately drive Palestinians from the area.
He said Israeli forces raided Al-Mughayyir on Friday with dozens of military and police vehicles alongside Israeli occupiers on the claim that sheep belonging to an occupier had been stolen.
Abu Aliya rejected the claim as false, saying Israeli forces nevertheless pursued Palestinian livestock owners, raided a home and attempted to seize sheep, sparking confrontations in which Palestinians were injured.
He said Israeli forces have kept the village entrance closed since the raid and prevent ambulances and Civil Defense vehicles from entering during the closures.
Abu Aliya added that while residents were dealing with attacks Friday in the southern part of the village, more than 50 Israeli occupiers entered the northern area, assaulted a Palestinian farmer and stole 25 sheep.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry warned earlier Saturday that Al-Mughayyir had been subjected to a “suffocating siege” for around 20 days.
It said Israeli forces control access through village gates, at times allowing residents only two hours a day to enter or leave.
It said the restrictions and attacks by Israeli occupiers were aimed at isolating the village and creating conditions for forced displacement.
Three Palestinians were injured Friday in an occupier attack in Al-Mughayyir, while Israeli forces and occupiers blocked an ambulance en route to transport those who were injured.
The occupied West Bank has seen an escalation in Israeli military raids and attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.