Albanese warns: Military barriers in the occupied West Bank are suffocating Palestinian life

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Israeli military barriers in the West Bank are fragmenting Palestinian land and restricting Palestinian movement, citing the case of infant Ahmad Zaid, whose family was prevented by occupation soldiers from reaching an ambulance.

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, warned that military barriers erected by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, including checkpoints and road gates, are fragmenting Palestinian land and imposing an arbitrary control system that costs Palestinians their time, livelihoods, educational opportunities, and even their lives. Albanese noted that arbitrariness turns into a form of torture when every trip, appointment, and family visit becomes subject to a soldier's permission. She cited the case of four-month-old infant Ahmad Zaid, who died in July after occupation soldiers prevented his family from reaching an ambulance for over an hour. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 925 barriers and obstacles in December 2025, the highest number in 20 years and 43% above the average of the previous two decades, restricting the movement of approximately 3.4 million Palestinians.