Ramallah / Awad Rajoub / Anadolu

ـ Azzun entrance is a main artery for the movement of the population in the "besieged" town

ـ Activist Hassan Shbeita to Anadolu: The siege of the town caused the closure of dozens of shops at its main entrance

ـ Merchant Shadi Radwan to Anadolu: The protest carries the slogan 'Breaking the siege imposed on Azzun town for nearly a thousand days'

ـ Member of the local council in Azzun, Shadi Abu Haniyeh, to Anadolu: Some entrances to the town have been closed since the first Palestinian intifada in 1987

Palestinians on Sunday demanded the reopening of the main entrance to Azzun town, near the city of Qalqilya in the northern occupied West Bank, which has been closed by the Israeli army since October 2023, warning of the repercussions of the siege on about 50,000 residents and dozens of shops.

This came during a protest called by local institutions in the town, with the participation of merchants affected by the closure, activists, and representatives of the local council.

The closed entrance is a main artery for the movement of residents, as it connects Azzun to Qalqilya, which is less than 5 minutes away by car, in addition to linking it to the rest of the northern West Bank governorates.

Activist Hassan Shbeita said in an interview with Anadolu that organizing the protest comes after years of closing the main entrance and the damage it has caused to residents, including merchants, students, and employees.

Shbeita pointed out that the siege of the town caused the closure of dozens of shops at its main entrance, whose owners relied on the movement of residents.

He demanded the immediate opening of the gate to restore economic and social life to the town and its 50,000 residents.

For his part, merchant Shadi Radwan told Anadolu that the protest carries the slogan 'Breaking the siege imposed on Azzun town for nearly a thousand days.'

Radwan added that the Israeli army has not stopped at besieging the town but continues its nightly raids, arrests, land leveling, construction bans, and house demolitions.

He called on 'all free people of the world' to show solidarity with his town, visit it, and listen to the suffering of its residents.

For his part, member of the local council in Azzun, Shadi Abu Haniyeh, told Anadolu that the protest is a message to end the siege.

Abu Haniyeh pointed out that some entrances to the town have been closed since the first Palestinian intifada in 1987.

From October 8, 2023, to June 29 last, attacks by the Israeli army and settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank resulted in the killing of 1,179 Palestinians and the injury of about 13,000, in addition to the arrest of about 24,000, according to data from the Palestinian Government Communication Center.

According to data from the Palestinian Authority's Commission of Resistance to the Wall and Settlements (governmental) at the end of June, the number of military checkpoints in the West Bank is 916, including 243 gates installed after October 7, 2023.

Since October 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, with US support, which lasted two years and killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 173,000, along with widespread destruction affecting about 90 percent of civilian infrastructure.