‘Little ghettos’: Israel shuts down Jewish villages 'for safety'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Tuesday placed several Jewish villages and kibbutzim (communes) near Gaza on total lockdown for two days, prohibiting all exit and entry, according to residents in the area. The government said the move was for the residents’ own safety after the IDF nabbed a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist Monday. The IDF apparently feared reprisals from the Islamic organization, which operates freely in Gaza. 

The villages and kibbutzim alongside Gaza Access Road 232 are small farming communities focused on agriculture and development of the Land of Israel. They have in the past been subjected to occasional road closures due to terror activities out of Gaza, which the State of Israel gifted to Hamas in 2005 after expelling all the area’s Jews. 

But this was the first time Israel’s government blockaded the villages themselves and ordered the gates locked, according to one resident. 

"They close that road 232 for every ‘war’,” Moshav Dekel resident Chava Dagan told America’s Frontline News Thursday. “But they have never gone so far as to try to lock us in inside our villages.” 

Dagan says businesses have been forced to close, and the village’s tourism industry, which caters to American Jews who want a glimpse of Israeli farming pioneers, has come to a grinding halt. 

“Businesses have had to shut down because anyone from the outside can’t come in and vice-versa. Yesterday they actually locked the gates of each place. Little ghettos. They are pushing the limits of ‘it’s all for your safety’ all the time,” said the mother of six. 

For Israelis, the government is often the single source of information regarding terrorism and security, which is then filtered through the country’s mainstream media. Citizens who wish to obtain additional or alternative information find themselves at a loss. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Dagan’s eldest son came home from working in the car garage, saying the business was having trouble getting supplies because no deliveries were allowed by the military. Her 17-year-old son works at a local hamburger restaurant, which was also forced to close. 

After multiple road closures over the years, the villages along Road 232 have become inured to the warnings and use dirt backroads between the villages to circumvent the army. 

The army is aware of this practice. On Wednesday, the IDF reportedly decided that it wasn’t fair for the villages to have access to backroads, which the kibbutzim on the other side of the road do not have, so the IDF decided to open the road for residents of kibbutzim, but not the villages. 

“People are so fed up with the Gaza games here that they just ignore everything and head to the back roads, use their own keys to get in and out and put up with the rest,” shared Dagan. “At this point, we just wait for them to finish playing their political games, so we can get back to working. It's a joke, but people gave up protesting or even caring anymore.” 

On Thursday, the IDF opened one side of Road 232, allowing exits but still prohibiting entry.