The Union for Justice: the occupation tightens its grip on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
13/3/2026 – The Union for Justice Foundation
“The Union for Justice Foundation” stated that the Israeli occupation authorities have tightened their grip on Palestinians and have taken several measures that would exacerbate the suffering of citizens in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, under the pretext of the war waged by the United States and Israel on Iran.
It added: “One day after the start of this war on the twenty-eighth of last month, the Coordinator of the occupation government announced the closure of all crossings in the Gaza Strip, including the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which led to the halt of the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip at a time when it is suffering from deteriorating humanitarian conditions and a severe shortage of basic supplies.”
Indicating that this decision also led to the disruption of the movement of individuals, and the prevention of the departure of patients and the wounded who had been awaiting medical evacuation for treatment outside the Strip, which threatens the lives of those who require special medical care and urgent surgical procedures.
The occupation partially reopened the Rafah crossing at the beginning of February 2026, where Palestinian patients and wounded were allowed to leave the Strip and Palestinians were allowed to return to it according to Israeli conditions and after obtaining security approvals, within the framework of implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
“The Union for Justice” stated that the occupation continued firing operations and shelling of homes and displacement shelters housing the displaced, which led to the martyrdom of approximately (20) citizens since the beginning of the war until the thirteenth of the current month.
Last week, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs “OCHA” warned that the regional escalation is directly reflected in the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, with the closure of all crossings, including the Rafah crossing.
The office explained that the rotation operations of United Nations staff were postponed, which led to the suspension of medical evacuation and the return of residents, despite the efforts made to maintain the flow of supplies.
It pointed to the rationing of fuel consumption due to declining stocks, which affected the operation of bakeries, hospitals, and water desalination plants, in addition to the suspension of waste collection services, noting that some areas of Gaza receive only two liters of drinking water per day for their residents with the beginning of rising prices of basic commodities.
The situation in the West Bank
In the West Bank, “The Union for Justice Foundation” clarified that the occupation authorities have continued since the beginning of the war to close military checkpoints and iron gates that fragment the West Bank, and have tightened their siege on villages and towns, which has made movement between Palestinian areas almost impossible and fraught with many risks, and has deprived thousands of students, employees, and patients of reaching their workplaces, schools, universities, and medical centers.
It continued: “Since the beginning of the war on the twenty-eighth of last February, the Israeli army has installed 5 new iron gates at the only entrance to the village of Deir Jarir east of Ramallah, and at the entrances to the villages of Bardala, Kardala, and Ein al-Baida in the northern Jordan Valley, and at the two entrances to the villages of Az-Zubaidat and Marj Na’ja north of Jericho.”
The occupation also closed with earth mounds the main entrance to the village of At-Tira southwest of Ramallah, and closed with concrete barriers secondary roads in the village of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya south of Nablus.
Indicating that the number of military checkpoints and gates in the occupied Palestinian territory has risen to approximately 917, including 248 gates installed after 7 October 2023.
The foundation said: “In addition to closing checkpoints and iron gates, the occupation has notably escalated raids on citizens’ homes and the expulsion of their residents from them, converting them into temporary sleeping quarters for its soldiers after evacuating army camps for fear of them being targeted by shelling from the Iranian side.”
“The Union for Justice” documented during the past two weeks dozens of cases in which the occupation army asked homeowners to leave them and return after several days in the cities of Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, Jericho, Salfit, and Tulkarm, especially in those areas close to camps belonging to the Israeli army.
For example but not limited to, on 3/3/2026 occupation soldiers raided the house of the citizen Munther Al-Jayousi in the Jabal at-Tawil neighborhood in the city of Al-Bireh and converted it into a military barracks, and on 1/3/2026 occupation soldiers raided the house of the citizen Amjad Othman Dawoud in the village of Haris west of Salfit and forced its residents to evacuate it.
On 2/3/2026 occupation soldiers in the town of Ya’bad, Jenin district, seized the house of the citizen Mahmoud Issa Atatra, consisting of three floors, and converted it into a military barracks after detaining its owners on the first floor, and on 3/3/2026 occupation soldiers raided the house of the citizen Shadi Mohammed Khal in the town of Qaffin north of Tulkarm and forced its residents to leave it, and converted it into a military barracks.
In addition to raiding citizens’ homes and expelling their residents, the occupation deployed heavy military equipment including tanks and armored personnel carriers, in addition to mobile homes “caravans,” to several areas in Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank, especially those close to the border strip with Jordan, in a precautionary measure that observers believe is linked to the occupation’s fear of Iranian targeting of Israeli camps that include this equipment.
“The Union for Justice” stated that occupation soldiers and settler gangs took turns in killing Palestinians in the West Bank, which led to the martyrdom of (10) citizens since the beginning of the war until the thirteenth of the current month.
Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque
In the city of Jerusalem, the occupation authorities continue for the second week to close the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent worshippers from praying in it, under the pretext of declaring a state of emergency amid a heavy deployment of its forces around it and at the gates of the Old City, and preventing citizens from entering its courtyards.
At the end of last week, the occupation authorities decided to keep Al-Aqsa Mosque closed to worshippers until the end of the month of Ramadan, in a step considered among the longest periods of closure that the mosque has witnessed during the month of Ramadan.
The occupation authorities justified this measure by what it described as “security conditions,” against the backdrop of regional tensions linked to the American-Israeli war on Iran, and the accompanying escalation in the region.
“The Union for Justice Foundation” affirms that the continued closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and preventing access to it constitutes a violation of freedom of worship and a dangerous escalation in the city of Jerusalem, especially during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, which usually witness a large turnout for prayer and seclusion in the mosque.
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