Palestine Movement Statistics

Palestine movement statistics at a glance

Movement restrictions in the West Bank are not a single barrier or a single checkpoint. They are an accumulating system of closures, gates, partial checkpoints, road blocks, earthmounds, and other obstacles that shape how people move between towns, villages, roads, clinics, schools, and crossings.

The statistics below show how fast that system expanded, where it concentrated, and which parts of daily life it disrupted most heavily.

Table of contents

• The core movement picture
• How the obstacle network changed
• Where obstacles are concentrated
• What the numbers say about roads and access
• H2 area access conditions
• Health care and permit-related access
• Gaza humanitarian movement snapshots
• What the 2025 West Bank access data adds
• Work, mobility, and the broader economy

The core movement picture

A single line captures the scale of the problem: since 7 October 2023, movement restrictions were imposed on 3.3 million Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

That figure is not abstract. It sits alongside an inventory of physical and administrative obstacles that includes checkpoints, partial checkpoints, gates, road gates, road blocks, linear closures, and earthmounds (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

The central takeaway from the statistics is that movement has become harder in two ways at once. First, the total obstacle count rose sharply. Second, the composition of those obstacles shifted toward mechanisms that can be opened, closed, staffed, or tightened in response to events, which makes everyday movement more uncertain (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

Fast facts

• 3.3 million Palestinians were affected by movement restrictions after 7 October 2023 (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• The West Bank had 793 movement obstacles as of March 2024 (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• The Barrier runs 712 kilometres through the West Bank and remained the single largest obstacle to movement (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• 316 out of 793 obstacles, or at least 40 per cent, blocked direct access between Palestinian towns and villages and eight major roads (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

The numbers describe a movement system, not just a line on a map.

How the obstacle network changed

The West Bank obstacle inventory gives a before-and-after view of movement conditions.

OCHA documented 642 obstacles in its June 2023 closure survey (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). Then 65 additional obstacles were documented before October 2023, bringing the total to 707 (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). Between October 2023 and March 2024, OCHA documented 86 new movement obstacles in the West Bank (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

That means the total count rose from 707 to 793 in roughly nine months, a 23 per cent increase (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

The new obstacles were not spread evenly. They were split across 37 in the central West Bank, 30 in the northern West Bank, and 19 in the southern West Bank (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

What changed most

The mix of obstacles matters because different types of obstacles create different access conditions.

• There were 89 checkpoints staffed 24/7 (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• There were 149 partial checkpoints that were not always staffed (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• Forty-six of the partial checkpoints had gates (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• The inventory included 158 earthmounds (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• It included 196 road gates (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• Of the road gates, 122 were usually closed (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• The inventory included 104 road blocks (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• It included 97 linear closures such as barriers, earthwalls, and trenches (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

Sixty-five per cent of the new obstacles since October 2023 were earthmounds and partial checkpoints (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). That is important because both categories can be especially disruptive for everyday travel: one narrows access physically, while the other creates routes that may exist in theory but not in practice.

A compact comparison

Indicator	Value	Source
June 2023 closure survey	642 obstacles	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank
Before October 2023 additions	65 obstacles	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank
Total before October 2023	707 obstacles	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank
New obstacles added Oct 2023 to Mar 2024	86 obstacles	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank
Total by March 2024	793 obstacles	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank
Increase over nine months	23 per cent	OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank

Where obstacles are concentrated

The obstacle count is high across the West Bank, but concentration matters more than raw totals when you want to understand lived access.

Hebron governorate contained 26 per cent of the total obstacles (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). Ramallah governorate contained 18 per cent (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). Nablus governorate contained 16 per cent (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

The pattern becomes even sharper inside Hebron’s H2 area.

• Nearly a third of checkpoints, 28 out of 89, were in H2 (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).
• Roughly 10 per cent of physical obstacles, 80 out of 793, were also in H2 (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).
• The H2 area subject to strict movement regulations is home to about 7,000 Palestinians and several hundred Israeli settlers (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).

That concentration means the same broad movement system can have much heavier effects in specific places. In areas where a large share of checkpoints and obstacles are clustered, normal travel becomes more dependent on opening hours, permit rules, and the possibility of unexpected closure.

What the numbers say about roads and access

The OCHA figures show a direct relationship between obstacles and road connectivity.

At least 40 per cent of the obstacles, 316 out of 793, blocked direct access between Palestinian towns and villages and eight major roads (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024). The West Bank road network averaged nearly one closure per kilometre on those eight major roads (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

Two road examples show how dense that can become:

• Road 60 had at least 129 movement obstacles within its 300-metre buffer along 180 kilometres (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).
• Road 505 had 61 closures along 57 kilometres (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

Those are not only numbers of obstacles. They are indications of how the road system itself becomes segmented. A road can still exist, but if it is repeatedly interrupted by gates, checkpoints, or barriers, the practical distance between places becomes much longer than the mapped distance.

What the obstacle mix suggests

The inventory of 793 obstacles breaks into different kinds of friction:

• staffed checkpoints that can slow or stop traffic directly,
• partial checkpoints that are not consistently staffed,
• gates that may be open at some times and closed at others,
• earthmounds and road blocks that physically divert traffic,
• linear closures that alter how roads connect to surrounding communities (OCHA Movement and Access in the West Bank | September 2024).

Together, they create a network where movement can be delayed, rerouted, or cut off without warning.

H2 area access conditions

The H2 area in Hebron stands out because the data combines movement restrictions with access to schools and health services.

Between 7 and 22 October 2023, H2 was under full closure applicable only to Palestinian residents (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024). After that closure, non-registered Palestinian residents were barred from access except on Fridays during Ramadan (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024). Movement of Palestinian residents in H2 was generally permitted only between 7:00 and 19:00 (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).

The social effects show up quickly in the service statistics:

• Three Palestinian schools in H2 serving at least 350 students remained closed for nearly seven months (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).
• The only primary healthcare clinic in H2 was closed for about seven months before partial reopening (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).
• About 50 persons with disability depended on that clinic for free services and medications (OCHA Fact Sheet: Movement and Access in the West Bank, September 2024).

This is what access restrictions look like when they move beyond transportation. They shape whether children can attend school, whether patients can get medication, and whether disability-related care is reachable at all.

Health care and permit-related access

Health access data gives a second view of movement restrictions because it tracks not only roads and checkpoints, but also the ability to reach treatment.

WHO documented over 160,000 Palestinians in Area C and the Seam Zone who depend on precarious mobile clinic access (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic). In 2022, WHO documented 102,703 companion permit applications in the West Bank and 87,721 patient permit applications (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).

The denial figures are substantial:

• 20 per cent of companion permit applications were denied, equal to 20,094 denials (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• 15 per cent of patient permit applications were denied, equal to 12,905 denials (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• 52 per cent of denied patient permits were for female patients (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• 19 per cent of denied patient permits were for child patients (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• 9 per cent of denied patient permits were for patients over 60 years old (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).

The transport system itself also creates delays.

• 93 per cent of ambulance transfers to East Jerusalem were delayed by the back-to-back system (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• Nablus closure lasted from 11 October to 3 November 2022 and affected more than 200,000 people (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• Forty-one of 47 primary health care centres were heavily impacted by the Nablus closure (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• The Shu’fat Refugee Camp closure from 8 to 11 October 2022 affected more than 130,000 people (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).
• Sixteen ambulances were delayed or prevented from access during the Shu’fat closure (WHO West Bank Access 2022 infographic).

Health-care access incidents over time

WHO also reported 387 health-related access incidents between October 2023 and July 2024, compared with 138 in the preceding nine months (FACT SHEET: MOVEMENT AND ACCESS IN THE WEST BANK). That comparison shows a sharp increase in incidents affecting health access, even before looking at any single closure or permit category.

Later data points continue the same pattern:

• WHO documented 527 health-care attacks in the West Bank from 7 October 2023 to 30 July 2024 (Humanitarian Situation Update #222 | West Bank).
• Those attacks affected 54 health facilities, 20 mobile clinics, and 365 ambulances (Humanitarian Situation Update #222 | West Bank).
• Of those health-care attacks, 236 involved use of force, 329 involved obstruction of access, 86 involved militarized searches, and 74 involved detentions (Humanitarian Situation Update #222 | West Bank).
• The incidents concentrated in Tulkarm with 116 cases, Nablus with 104, Jenin with 94, and Bethlehem with 52 (Humanitarian Situation Update #222 | West Bank).

By 31 December 2025, WHO reported 233 attacks on health care in the West Bank, causing 267 fatalities and 4,078 injuries (Attacks on health care in the West Bank 31 Dec). The same 2025 data also recorded 142 cases of use of force, 196 cases of obstruction to health care delivery, 44 arrests or detentions of health personnel or patients, and 37 militarized searches of health personnel, facilities or transport (Attacks on health care in the West Bank 31 Dec).

The 2025 data also listed 925 movement obstacles as factors impeding access to health care across the West Bank (Attacks on health care in the West Bank 31 Dec). That figure ties the road-and-checkpoint picture directly to medical access.

Gaza humanitarian movement snapshots

The Gaza movement snapshots add a separate but related access pattern. They show how humanitarian movement approvals, denials, and impediments can shift month to month.

In May 2024, 349 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions were recorded within Gaza (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024). Of those, 174 were facilitated, 79 were impeded, 38 were denied, and 58 were cancelled (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024). Some missions were delayed at holding points for up to nine hours (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024).

A few additional figures show how movement and supply chains interacted:

• A floating dock began operating on 17 May 2024 and was taken out of service for repairs on 25 May 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024).
• During its operational period in May 2024, 137 truckloads of humanitarian food supplies were transported from the dock (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024).
• Those 137 truckloads were enough for approximately 100,000 people for one month (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024).
• Only one humanitarian organization was able to use Ashdod Port to receive humanitarian cargo in May 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT 1–31 MAY 2024).

The later monthly snapshots show the same operational pressure:

• In July 2024, 543 coordinated humanitarian movements were recorded in Gaza (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• That was up from 414 in June 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• 15 per cent of movements were denied in July 2024, compared with 7 per cent in June 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• 58 per cent of movements were facilitated in July 2024, compared with 64 per cent in June 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• 12 per cent of movements in southern Gaza were impeded in July 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• 27 per cent of movements in northern Gaza were impeded in July 2024 (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).
• Two UN humanitarian movements in July 2024 were impacted by live ammunition, damaging the vehicles (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT JULY 2024).

In August 2024, UN and NGO partners conducted 598 coordinated humanitarian movements across Gaza (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024). Of those, 250 were facilitated, 99 were impeded, and 176 were denied (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024). Forty-six per cent of August 2024 humanitarian movements were denied or impeded (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).

The north-south split in August is especially clear:

• 203 coordinated movements were planned for northern Gaza (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).
• 395 coordinated movements were planned for southern Gaza (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).
• 74 of the northern Gaza movements were denied (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).
• 38 of the northern Gaza movements were impeded (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).
• Only 45 per cent of humanitarian movements to areas north of Wadi Gaza were facilitated (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).
• Nine health-sector movements planned to transport over 200,000 litres of fuel, and only one was facilitated (OCHA OPT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2024).

In September 2024, OCHA recorded 667 humanitarian movements in Gaza and 138 denials (OCHA Humanitarian Access Snapshot - Gaza Strip | September 2024). It also recorded 32 water, sanitation and hygiene related denials, 16 health-related denials, and denials of movements to deliver 220,000 litres of fuel (OCHA Humanitarian Access Snapshot - Gaza Strip | September 2024). In October 2024, 43 per cent of all coordinated humanitarian movements in Gaza were denied, another 16 per cent were impeded, and 37 per cent were facilitated without major issues (OCHA Humanitarian Access Snapshot - Gaza Strip | October 2024).

What the 2025 West Bank access data adds

The 2025 West Bank access snapshot shows that movement restrictions remained a major operational issue into the following year.

OCHA recorded 457 restriction-of-movement incidents within the West Bank in 2025 (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025). It also recorded 74 violence-against-humanitarian-personnel incidents, 65 unsafe-environment incidents, and 56 restriction-of-movement-into-the-West-Bank incidents (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025).

The geographic breakdown is also revealing:

• The southern West Bank recorded 259 access incidents in 2025 (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025).
• The northern West Bank recorded 205 access incidents in 2025 (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025).
• The central governorates recorded 162 access incidents in 2025 (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025).
• At crossings or movements to and from the West Bank, 57 incidents were recorded in 2025 (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025).

The total time loss was also quantified.

Humanitarian incidents in the West Bank in 2025 produced over 428 hours of time lost, equal to 53 workdays (OCHA West Bank Humanitarian Access Snapshot 2025). That is a useful reminder that access restrictions do not only change routes. They also absorb staff time, delay deliveries, and reduce the usable capacity of health and humanitarian systems.

Work, mobility, and the broader economy

The movement statistics sit inside a wider economic context.

The World Bank said West Bank unemployment was 13.1 per cent at end-2022 (West Bank and Gaza Overview | World Bank). Gaza unemployment was 45.3 per cent at end-2022 (West Bank and Gaza Overview | World Bank). Palestinian territories unemployment was 24.4 per cent at end-2022 (West Bank and Gaza Overview | World Bank). The Palestinian economy grew by 3.9 per cent in 2022 (West Bank and Gaza Overview | World Bank).

Those figures do not prove causation by themselves, but they do show why movement matters economically. When people cannot move predictably to work, services, hospitals, schools, or markets, the cost is not only inconvenience. It is also missed shifts, disrupted deliveries, delayed care, and reduced access to opportunity.

In that sense, the movement statistics tell a consistent story across the West Bank and Gaza: access is not a side issue. It is one of the main conditions that determines whether institutions can function and whether daily life can proceed on ordinary terms.