Israel’s Checkpoints Are Not Meant to Deny or Humiliate Palestinians

A common accusation leveled against Israel is that its security checkpoints exist to deny Palestinians their rights and to humiliate them by preventing them from having freedom of movement around the territories. However, this claim ignores the actual purpose of these checkpoints and the context in which they were established as well as the significant transformation this method has gone through. Israeli checkpoints are not political tools—they are security measures developed in response to Palestinian terrorism, and their numbers have historically risen and fallen in correlation with levels of violence.

Why Checkpoints Exist

During the 1990s, before the Second Intifada, the number of Israeli checkpoints was limited. According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there were fewer than 40 fixed checkpoints in Judea & Samaria before the outbreak of the Second Intifada in late 2000. But between 2001 and 2005, over 1,000 Israelis were killed in suicide bombings, shootings, and other terror attacks, many of which originated from  Judea & Samaria and Gaza.

In response, Israel dramatically expanded its checkpoint network to over 100 permanent checkpoints and hundreds of temporary roadblocks by 2005. The goal was simple: prevent terrorists from reaching Israeli cities.

Checkpoint Numbers Reflect Security Trends

As terrorism declined due to Israeli countermeasures—including the completion of parts of the security barrier and improved intelligence cooperation—the number of checkpoints was gradually reduced. By 2009, the number of fixed manned checkpoints in Judea & Samaria dropped to around 60. In the 2010s, during a relative lull in large-scale terror attacks, Israel removed or eased many checkpoints, cutting travel times and improving movement for Palestinians. By 2022, OCHA reported approximately 35 permanently staffed checkpoints in the Judea & Samaria—nearly half the number at the peak of the Second Intifada.

The Situation Leading Up to October 7

Before the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, Israel had continued reducing restrictions, allowing over 18,000 Gazans to enter Israel for work. The relative calm in the Judea & Samaria led to greater mobility, with fewer checkpoints and fewer delays. However, this goodwill was shattered when over 1,200 Israelis were murdered in the worst terror attack in the country's history. Since then, Israel has reassessed its security posture, and increased security measures, including checkpoint reinforcements in Judea and Samaria, where terrorist cells have reactivated.

Conclusion

The data makes one thing clear: checkpoints are not a cause of conflict but a defensive response to it. Checkpoints are used for security measures similar to the use of security at malls, airports, and other places of necessity. Their number rises when terrorism surges and decreases when the threat subsides. To claim that Israel maintains these checkpoints simply to humiliate Palestinians ignores the painful reality that terrorism forced their existence. Groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have long prioritized violence over diplomacy, sacrificing the well-being of ordinary Palestinians for ideological gain. As long as terror remains a strategy, checkpoints will remain a tragic necessity.

If Palestinian leadership choose peace over terror, the need for such security measures would fade. Until then, checkpoints remain a tragic but necessary reality.