“Total closure days” are days on which Palestinians with Palestinian Authority (PA) ID cards are not allowed to enter Israel or East Jerusalem at all, even if they have valid Israeli entry permits. With the establishment of a detailed permit regime, especially after the Second Intifada,1 total closure days became more common.

The Israeli army typically announces the total closure of the West Bank and Gaza2 on major Jewish holidays like Passover (which usually occurs in March or April) and Yom Kippur (which usually falls in September or October) or on the occasion of an Israeli national event such as Election Day or Independence Day.3 For instance, during the Purim holiday in 2017, an extended 11-day closure was imposed on the occupied West Bank and Gaza.4 During the Passover holiday in April 2019, the Israeli army imposed a nine-day closure.5 A total closure was announced twice in one year on the occasion of Israeli elections (April 7 and September 17, 2019).6 As well, the army might declare a total closure on the West Bank when there are high alerts of possible “attacks.” For instance, the Israeli military imposed closure from July 19 to 22, 2006, as a result of high alerts for attacks or kidnapping Israeli soldiers.7 This closure took place less than one month after the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on June 25.8

Total closure can last from several hours to several days.

On total closure days, the only Palestinians who can pass through the checkpoints from the West Bank into Jerusalem or Israel are those who are citizens of Israel or permanent residents who hold Israeli IDs. This also means that the nearly 150,000 Palestinian laborers (from the West Bank)9 who have entry permits for work purposes cannot get through the checkpoints on these days. The army argues that exceptions are made for humanitarian, medical, and other outstanding cases, but this requires the approval of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) (see Jerusalem: A Closed City).

All previously approved entry permits for the day on which a total closure is announced are cancelled, and the holder has to reapply all over again, a process that can take weeks and has no guaranteed outcome. A total closure prevents Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as their goods, from traveling into or through Israel. It also restricts the movement of Palestinians and goods within the West Bank itself. The Israeli army usually implements increased inspections, checking vehicles, passengers, and persons on foot at permanent and temporary Israeli military checkpoints. Also, Palestinians and shipments are blocked from entering or exiting crossings to Jordan.  

While total closure days usually coincide with major Jewish holidays, the measure is also sometimes imposed on other minor occasions. In 2016, for example, the army imposed total closure on the Jewish holiday Purim, with the justification that it was “designed to reduce the friction between Palestinians and Israelis.”10

In recent years (since 2016), the number of total closure days in a given year has been between 15 and 32 (see Table 1). However, in the years of the Second Intifada, the number would exceed 100 per year. For example, in the last year of the Intifada, 2005, there were 132 total closure days. In the following year, 2006, there were 122. But in 2007, there were 34 total closure days.11

Table 1 details the gradual increase in the number of days of total closure over time.

Writing in 1999, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem noted that total closure “constitutes collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law.”12