Most of the residents of Tzofim either work, study or receive health and welfare services from communities in the Shomron. The IDF, however, plans to close the checkpoint that currently exists between Tzofim - some call it Tzufin - and the rest of the Shomron. The residents will therefore be able to travel freely only westwards, in the direction of Kibbutz Eyal and Kokhav Yair.
Many of the families in Tzofim - a mixed religious-secular town - send their children to study in Karnei Shomron, and others to Alfei Menashe. Medical services, children's extra-curricular education, and other services are also provided in these towns. The journeys to both towns will now become much more difficult, involving a very long detour.
Ze'ev Slonim, a resident of Tzofim, said the closure of the checkpoint would add a full 25-30 kilometers (15-18 miles) to their travels. "Alfei Menashe is currently 7-8 kilometers (5 miles) from us," he said, "and Karnei Shomron is about 15 (9 miles). Closing down the Tzofim checkpoint and allowing us to leave our town only to the west will increase both trips tremendously."
At present, the checkpoint to Tzofim serves only the town itself. Guests and service providers must be approved in advance, or greeted personally by a resident.
The checkpoint is manned by two soldiers, which, Slonim explained, "was the original excuse given for wanting to shut down the checkpoint. The authorities said they wanted to save on manpower."
Later, however, another excuse was added: The terrorist who perpetrated the murderous terrorist attack in Netanya three months ago was able to trick the guards at the Tzofim checkpoint into letting him through. "But this is a ridiculous justification for causing us to suffer," Slonim said. "By that logic, every entrance to Jerusalem through which a terrorist ever came should be closed."
Slonim admitted that a small minority of the community - roughly 20% - does not oppose the idea, and in fact welcomes the prospect of building ties with 'mainland' Israel. "But we are confident," he said, "given the large majority that is against the move, that our leadership is working behind the scenes to try to ward off this problem." He said he is far from confident that this quiet diplomacy will work, however.
Other residents said that turning to the Supreme Court has not been ruled out, but they are pessimistic that this will help. The Court has ruled more than once that the security considerations governing the placement of the partition must be balanced by the needs of the local Arab population. One resident told Haggai Huberman, "The Supreme Court, which is so sensitive to every Palestinian olive tree, has delivered a terrific blow to the fabric of life here in Tzofim."
Construction on the fence was begun in 2002 as a measure to prevent PA-based terrorists from reaching major Israeli population centers. Government leaders have repeatedly said that the fence is not mean to determine future borders - but many observers feel that the facts on the ground will be stronger than these declarations, and that the partition fence is effectively cutting off Judea and Samaria from the rest of the Jewish State.