Israelis trapped by dangerous congestion as weak enforcement empowers hostile zones and ignores repeated security warnings.
Samaria’s mayors and regional governors have issued an urgent appeal to Israel’s ministers of Defense, Finance, National Security, Transportation, and Justice, demanding an immediate overhaul of policy governing Israeli entry into Area A and strict, equal enforcement at security crossings.
The warning follows weeks of severe and abnormal congestion at the Eliyahu crossing and along critical arteries such as Route 55—conditions local leaders say now pose a clear and present danger to Israeli lives. Tens of thousands of Israelis from Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Emanuel, and the Gav HaHar region are affected daily.
The appeal comes after a professional briefing in Karnei Shomron attended by the regional division commander, senior military and police officials, and municipal leaders. Data presented at the meeting highlighted escalating risks, yet no systemic response has followed.
At the core of the crisis, officials say, is a sharp rise in Arab Israeli civilian traffic entering the Palestinian city of Qalqilya for shopping and leisure. With other crossings closed, all movement has been funneled into Eliyahu—an infrastructure bottleneck incapable of handling current volumes. The resulting gridlock spills onto main routes, paralyzing mobility and exposing commuters to heightened security threats.
These concerns are not theoretical. Two shooting attacks have occurred in the area over the past year and a half. Despite this, proposed remedies—including reopening a previously operational crossing—have been ignored.
The letter demands either a new, coherent checkpoint policy or unequivocal enforcement of existing law against all Israeli citizens entering Area A, without exception. Failure to act, the mayors warn, erodes security, damages the economy, disrupts transportation, and shatters public trust.
For Samaria’s leaders, this is not about convenience—it is about sovereignty, deterrence, and the state’s obligation to protect its citizens. Allowing unmanaged access into hostile zones, they argue, rewards recklessness and endangers Israelis, while signaling weakness to those who exploit it.
