QALQILYA, Wednesday, April 03, 2019 (WAFA) – Azzoun, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya and a town of 12,000 people, has been under Israeli military siege for more than a week as collective punishment, according to residents.

Mohammad Radwan, a resident of Azzoun, told WAFA that the Israeli military blocked the main access road to the town with a metal gate and cement blocks to prevent cars and people from leaving or entering it.

He said the main entrance has been closed for seven straight days apparently to punish the town residents after a metal gate the army had placed at the entrance was sawed.

As a result, residents have to take long and rough alternate routes to leave the town or enter it.

Meanwhile, a young town resident was detained today when soldiers spotted him near the metal gate and seized his car.

Azzoun is actually surrounded by six illegal Jewish settlements, the separation wall, five metal gates, and four military towers.

M.K.