Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are observing a general strike in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, denouncing Saturday’s attack on a designated safe zone of al-Mawasi that killed at least 90 people and injured some 300 others.
Most cities in the West Bank joined the general strike on Sunday against Israel’s air attack on the refugee camp west of Khan Younis. Palestinians also protested on Saturday night in the cities of Jenin, Hebron and Tubas to condemn the devastating war.
Local Palestinian social media accounts shared videos on Sunday morning showing shops closing in Jenin, the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, and Tulkarem in response to calls for the strike.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that at least 38,584 Palestinians have been killed and 88,881 have been injured in Israel’s war on the enclave.
Meanwhile, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which had been escalating even before Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, has intensified dramatically in the past months. An increase in Israeli military raids on Palestinian groups, expansion of settlements and violent attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages have drawn response from Palestinian armed groups in the occupied territory.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported on Sunday that Israeli soldiers arrested 30 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank over the past two days. Israel has arrested nearly 10,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in near-daily raids.
