Israeli forces sealed off the West Bank town of Sinjil on Wednesday after closing its last remaining access road the local officials said.
Mayor Moataz Tawafsha said troops blocked the town's final road with earth mounds and calling it an "unprecedented" move. He said closures now cover not just main entrances but secondary and agricultural roads as well, leaving Sinjil fully cut off.
According to Tawafsha, Israeli forces have shut six main entrances and 16 secondary and agricultural roads using iron gates, earth mounds and rock barriers, as part of an intensified siege.
"The occupation has not only closed the roads; it is trying to shut access to livelihoods, healthcare and education," he said, accusing Israeli authorities of imposing "every form of collective punishment" to isolate residents.
"This is not merely road closures, but complete strangulation of the town," Tawafsha said, calling it an escalation that is deepening residents' suffering. He urged international humanitarian and human rights organizations to intervene urgently.
In recent years, Israeli authorities have built a wire fence along Sinjil's eastern side near Route 60 and installed gates at main entrances, cutting the town off from large stretches of farmland.
Earlier Wednesday, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israel had seized about 115 acres of Sinjil's land, declaring it "state land" to expand the Karmei Tzur settlement outpost.
Since October 8, 2023, Israeli military operations across the West Bank have killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666 and led to about 23,000 arrests according to Palestinian figures.
