Palestinian mayor: Israel punishing 25,000 people for the actions of three 

Israel blockaded Qatabiya, in the West Bank, after three residents killed an Israeli officer. For many, Israel's actions are collective punishment

 Israeli police arrest a Palestinian youth in Qabatiya on 4 February, 2016 (AFP)-The mayor of Qabatiya Mahmoud Kameel (MEE/Abed al-Qaisi).jpg 

Sheren Khalel-Friday 5 February 2016

QABATIYA, West Bank - It is the only way into Qabatiya, but it can hardly be considered a road. The dirt route runs through a farm field with deep trenches cut into the ground where ambulances have torn through the soft earth, as first responders try desperately to get the wounded out of the village.

Qabatiya is big for something called a village. It is home to about 25,000 Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin.

The seven real entrances have all been blocked off with large mounds of dirt dug from the village's land.

Israeli forces closed off Qabatiya overnight on Wednesday, after three youths made their way from the village, crossed into Israel illegally, and shot dead a 19-year-old Israeli police officer in occupied East Jerusalem.

All three Palestinian were shot dead at the scene.

An Israeli army spokesman told Middle East Eye that the village would remain closed for at least a month, and would be reopened only after it had passed a "situation assessment".

The village's mayor, Mahmoud Kameel, who shares his last name almost half its residents, said he believed Israel's actions were unconscionable and amounted to collective punishment.

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