WORLD BRIEFING / WEST BANK

Israel dismantled a military checkpoint that had impeded Palestinian travel in the West Bank in an apparent goodwill gesture a day before President Obama’s address to the Muslim and Arab world.

But Palestinians said the removal of a major obstacle on the road from Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority government, to the northern West Bank didn’t address the broader need to ease the movement of people and goods in the Palestinian territories. Israel maintains hundreds of roadblocks throughout the West Bank, saying they are needed to prevent the movement of militants.

Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel continues to stymie movement in the West Bank and blockade crossings into the Gaza Strip, ruled by the militant Palestinian Hamas group.

Erekat said the “system” of closures must end. “That’s what needs to be removed.”