The Israeli occupation police on Saturday evening sealed off the access road to Merda village north of Salfit with a makeshift checkpoint blocking Palestinians’ movement inside and out.
Israeli cops and soldiers have been spotted around Merda village and near a thoroughfare leading to Israel’s illegal settlement of Ariel.
Speaking with the Palestinian Information Center eyewitnesses said the measure led to traffic congestion with dozens of Palestinians lining up in the street. Dozens of others have found no other way than to walk for hundreds of meters through rock-filled roads to reach their homes.
Palestinians driving in the area also sought other routes to get to their destinations fearing the steep fines routinely issued by the occupation forces at checkpoints set up across the Palestinian territories.
