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This Palestinian village depended on Israel. Then the checkpoint closed

War has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but also unleashed havoc for those in the West Bank
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Palestinians cross into Israel through a checkpoint in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Count the rings of the gnarled olive trees dotting Mohammed Mousa’s land in the West Bank village of Nilin: They’ve been here centuries, far before the Palestinian family’s livelihood came to depend on the whims of Israeli occupation.

When Israel established a checkpoint near the Mousas’ land a decade ago, the family converted their ancestral farm into a parking lot for Palestinian workers entering Israel.

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