of the village, highlighting that the Israeli authorities had cited security reasons without giving any explanation. As a result of the closure, residents need to take bypass routes through the nearby al-‘Arrub refugee camp or Tuqu‘ village. However, these routes are bumpy mountainous paths unqualified as roads. The town has a population of about 15,000 many of whom leave every day to work outside. In addition, the town does not have a hospital or a major medical center, and so access to Bethlehem, about 10 kilometers to the north, is important for healthcare and emergencies … The town is also known for stone factories and quarries, and the closure of the main road creates a serious problem for truck drivers who need to travel back and forth everyfeared fighting between rebels and Syrian army forces would affect the area. Rebels in southern Syria set up earlier this year the so-called Southern Front, including some 30,000 fighters from more than 55 mainstream rebel groups, and have claimed successes, notably in Quneitra. Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights plateau during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. In March, Israeli aircraft struck inside Syria in the wake of a bomb attack on the Golan which wounded four soldiers. Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of stray projectiles hitting the Israeli side, prompting an occasional