The checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah is wide open
The checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah is wide openBeit El Council spokesperson

Two months after the bloody attack at Givat Assaf, that had taken the lives of Staff Sergeant Yuval Mor Yosef and Sergeant Yossi Cohen, the IDF has opened the Focus checkpoint, the entrance to Ramallah from the direction of Beit El.

At the end of last week, residents of Beit El had documented the checkpoint being wide open, with Palestinian-Arab traffic running freely through it and no soldiers manning the checkpoint.

The Beit El local council reacted harshly to the development.

“It is very unfortunate that such a decision was made that could bring on more dead and wounded people. We remind the IDF and the decision makers that there are still shooting squads that are still circulating in the area that hadn’t yet been captured. The outline of Givat Assaf can return with a very high probability,” says a source in the council.

One of the Beit El residents said t was a military and security omission. “The army and the government want to make it easier for the Palestinians at the expense of the lives of our children. We will respond to this harshly. Palestinian vehicles will travel on this route only after an inspection. If that does not happen, we will respond with a very strong protest.”

The head of the Beit El council said he was discussing the matter now with relevant officials. “We will make efforts to close this road to Palestinian traffic, if the army and state still want to let them travel on the road, they will only travel after an inspection. At the moment, I am in discussions with the relevant parties.”