Palestinians say territories like big prison

Palestinians say the Israel clampdown on self-rule areas is a collective punishment, turning West Bank and Gaza Strip territories into a big prison.

Officials say the blockade has cost 5 million US dollars to 9 million US dollars in losses a day, reportedly caused the death of an elderly Gazan woman and hit workers inside the West Bank as Israeli soldiers block roads between the patchwork of small Palestinian self-rule areas.

Doctors, laborers, engineers and traders all say they have to creep around winding side roads to get to work.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian Authority's pleas to lift the closure.

The Israeli occupation army said on August 9 it was easing the internal closure around Nablus and Jericho but kept up road-blocks around other West Bank towns.

Nablus residents said road-blocks in the area had been eased but buses taking Palestinians to the Jordanian border were still being held up in Jericho.

"We are living in cantons now, in ghettos," said Yousef Abu Mohammed, an engineer at a concrete supplier outside Ramallah.

He said half of the workers at the company could not come into work and movement of equipment was being obstructed.

"This is even tougher than previous closures. Just to go from village to village you need a pass," he said.

Fruit sellers in Ramallah’s central market said they had been taking twice as long as usual to get their goods from Nablus.

"It's not just side roads we have to take. They’ve forced us into the mountains," said market trader Ramzi Abed.

The main West Bank hospital in Ramallah said some doctors had been prevented from getting to work.

Some roadblocks are just shows of force by the Israeli army. At one junction outside Ramallah soldiers turned back all West Bank-registered cars and watched as they took a 30-second detour and rejoined their route just down the road.