An area of land in the
West Bank that the
Israeli military declares off-limits to anyone but the Israeli military and those they allow to remain in the area, or those with permits issued by the Israeli authorities. These zones often encompass or are located near the
Separation Barrier, Jewish Israeli settlements and/or Israeli military outposts. The Israeli military can also declare an area to be a Closed Military Zone for a short period of time, which often happens in villages/cities/areas where
Palestinian protests are taking place, at Israeli military checkpoints and in areas where altercations have happened between Jewish Israeli settlers and Palestinians. See "
Access Denied: Israeli measure to deny Palestinians access to land around settlements," B'Tselem, September 2008. For examples of temporary closed military zones, see "
Hebron declared a closed military zone," Efrat Weiss, Ynet News, January 17, 2006; and "
IDF declares West Bank protest villages a 'closed military zone'," Amira Hass, Haaretz, March 15, 2010.