The Israel occupation authority practice, applied first in 1988 and consistently since 1993, that denies Palestinians in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip passage through other areas of historic Palestine under Israeli jurisdiction. This involves separation of the residents of both territories from each other, and affects tens of thousands of Palestinian workers access to their jobs in Israel, and who lack other options because of the well-entrenched dependency of the occupied territories on the Israeli economy. Closure and separation also affect a variety of rights under Human Rights Treaties, including by denial of freedom of movement and closure/separation as a form of collective punishment. Closure has led to the aggravated illness and death of medical patients, who also are not spared this stricture, except in rare cases. Children are denied normal life, including family life, under closure, and are regularly denied access to education and other basic services. The Gaza Strip is particulary afflicted by closure, amounting to blockade since 2002.
