Tareeq
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Date
2024
Authors
Ala’a Anwar Hasan
Farah Musa EL-Hasan
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Abstract
Checkpoints set up by the Israeli occupation army restrict the movement of Palestinians and expose them to various forms of ill-treatment, including search, arrest, and violence. In addition, settlers take advantage of the protection provided by soldiers to attack Palestinians and their property, leading to further unrest. Since the beginning of the war, permanent and temporary checkpoints have increased, exacerbating the challenges faced by Palestinians. Palestinians face difficulties in moving between cities and villages, and often find checkpoints closed without prior notice. To address this issue, many are turning to Telegram or WhatsApp groups to receive updates about road conditions. However, repetitive conversations in these groups can distract from essential information. Given this reality imposed on us as Palestinians, we thought of solving this problem through an application that facilitates the movement of citizens in the West Bank with the least time and effort, by keeping users constantly informed of checkpoint updates. This saves users wasted time and useless waiting. The app provides a map showing the locations of checkpoints with several options to achieve this goal, including the ability for users to select any checkpoint on the map and view the latest updates based on information from other users who have passed through that checkpoint, as well as an expected wait time. Given the exceptional circumstances resulting from the occupation and increasing pressures, the application allows reporting of temporary checkpoints, providing greater benefit for users to follow actual emergency events. Since these checkpoints are not permanent, the application also allows reporting of their removal so that users can be notified of necessary updates on the map. To ensure the reliability of the information, reporting the addition or removal of a temporary barrier is not considered correct unless the request is repeated before it is approved. The application also provides a space for inquiries among users, as it allows them to inquire about specific paths, and receive responses from other users based on their actual experiences. Conducted research on similar applications and found two, Waze, which was developed by people from the Israeli occupation, and Azmeh. To make our application stand out, we aimed to develop it with the Palestinian identity, to enable users to interact and inquire, and to facilitate access to current and urgent information in the fastest possible way.