The elimination project is implemented not only through killing, violence, and the expulsion of shepherding communities. It also works through the gradual erosion of the conditions needed to sustain Palestinian life. Sometimes, closing a single gate is enough to disrupt daily life, cut a community off from its surroundings and land, and make continued life there increasingly difficult. For decades, Israel has developed an extensive system of movement restrictions that allows it to control Palestinian movement and bring daily life to a halt at a moment’s notice. The system includes checkpoints, gates at the entrances to villages, roads from which Palestinians are barred, and a permit regime that determines where Palestinians can travel. Since October 2023, Israel has intensified its use of this infrastructure, imposing increasingly severe movement restrictions. As of the end of 2025, 925 movement obstacles have been documented in the West Bank. More than 200 checkpoints and roadblocks have been added over the past three years, and at least half of the movement obstacles block or delay travel between Palestinian cities and villages and major roads. A gate that is closed without prior notice can prevent a worker from reaching their workplace, a child from getting to school, a patient from reaching a hospital, and a farmer from reaching their land. A journey of a few minutes can turn into hours, and no one knows whether a road that was open in the morning will still be open on the way back. Thus, Israel controls not only space, but also time and the ability to maintain a normal routine. It separates communities, cuts people off from their land and sources of livelihood, and turns uncertainty into a permanent condition. Movement restrictions are a central mechanism of the Elimination Project. They fragment Palestinian space into isolated enclaves, while enabling continuous movement and presence for Jews. In this way, they undermine Palestinians’ ability to exist as an independent collective and reinforce Jewish supremacy in the West Bank. Read more in our new report, The Elimination Project >> btselem.org/the_elimination_…