JERUSALEM, September 10, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday imposed heavy fines on Palestinian storeowners in Kafr Aqab neighborhood and Kalandia refugee camp, on the northern most outskirts of Jerusalem, according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that a sizable army force and municipal crews barged their way into the neighborhood and the refugee camp, effectively sealing off the main road connecting Ramallah to Jerusalem and obstructing Palestinians’ free movement.

The gun-toting soldiers broke into several stores and imposed heavy fines on their owners.

During the ensuing confrontations, the soldiers fired barrages of concussion grenades and tear gas canisters, resulting in a number of suffocation cases.

While Israel considers it part of the occupied city of Jerusalem, Kafr Aqab finds itself neglected and cut off from the rest of the city by Israel’s apartheid wall.

Though its some 60,000 residents have kept their Jerusalem ID cards – and have kept paying taxes to the Israeli occupation municipality – they have stopped receiving most services from the municipality.

Located within Area C and East Jerusalem, near the main checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem and next to Israel’s apartheid wall, Kalandia refugee camp, also written as Qalandiya, is flanked by a military checkpoint with the same name.

The checkpoint has become the busiest in the occupied West Bank in terms of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. It has a strong military presence and is often the scene of confrontations between the occupation forces and Palestinians. The occupying forces also conduct frequent incursions and raids within the camp, which have resulted in injuries and fatalities among camp residents.

K.F.