RAMALLAH, September 27, 2026 (WAFA) – Ramallah and its surrounding areas have been experiencing severe and unprecedented traffic congestion since Sunday morning due to the closure and tightening of procedures at several checkpoints, entrances, and main roads surrounding the city and the Jerusalem suburbs. This has resulted in thousands of vehicles being stranded and disrupting the movement of citizens in several directions.

Local sources reported that large numbers of vehicles have been stuck in long queues for hours, facing extreme difficulty in movement. Citizens are also experiencing difficulty leaving or entering Ramallah due to the closure of several main roads and routes connecting the city to surrounding villages and towns, as well as to Jerusalem.

The crisis is concentrated at checkpoints and entrances surrounding Ramallah and the Jerusalem suburbs, including Qalandiya, Jaba', Hizma, Zeitoun, Ein Sinya, Atara, Beit Iksa, and Sheikh Saad, in addition to other secondary roads and entrances affected by the traffic and diverted to alternative routes.

The closure of these checkpoints and the tightening of procedures at them led to massive traffic jams and long queues of vehicles. Citizens were forced to wait for hours, unable to continue their journeys, amidst severe traffic congestion on several streets and roads leading to Ramallah and the outskirts of Jerusalem.

These routes are among the main roads used daily by citizens to travel between Ramallah, Jerusalem, and the surrounding villages and towns. This has amplified the impact of the closures, affecting the movement of citizens to and from the city in all directions.

The crisis has also impacted the movement of citizens coming from the villages and towns surrounding Ramallah, making it difficult to reach workplaces, universities, schools, and hospitals. Furthermore, the movement of commercial and service vehicles has been disrupted.

For hours, citizens have been facing uncertainty regarding the possibility of the checkpoints reopening or the easing of procedures, while the number of vehicles stranded on the roads leading to the checkpoints and city entrances continues to increase.

These measures come at a time when the West Bank is witnessing increasing restrictions on the movement of citizens through military checkpoints and entrances to cities and villages, making travel more difficult and turning short distances into journeys that take hours.

K.T