A comprehensive strike took place in the West Bank in all aspects of commercial and educational life and public transportation, in light of the escalation of the Israeli occupation incursions into Palestinian cities, villages and towns in the occupied West Bank.
The strike came in response to the call of the national and Islamic forces to denounce the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the American role in this war.
On Sunday, Palestinian unions, federations, banks, factions, and companies announced in separate statements that they were joining the general strike in the West Bank.
Transportation movement was paralyzed in all governorates of the West Bank, institutions, banks, schools, ministries, and shops were closed, and the trading session on the local stock exchange was suspended today.
Global invitation
This comes in response to widespread calls, launched by activists from various parts of the world under the hashtag “Strike for Gaza”, for solidarity with the Gaza Strip and to pressure governments to take action to stop the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for more than two months.
In a previous statement, the Palestinian forces and factions called for “going out to the streets and squares of cities, villages and camps, to express the unity of blood and destiny and a victory for the defenseless innocents, and to send a message to the world that the Palestinian people will stand strongly against attempts of uprooting and displacement, and that the legitimate struggle will continue until freedom and independence are achieved.”
She added, “The peoples of the entire earth will unite in the face of injustice, murder, and racism practiced by the occupying state, and will triumph for the blood of children, women, and the elderly, victims of organized state terrorism and occupation war crimes.”
Israeli escalation
Regarding the ongoing Israeli escalation in the West Bank, the occupation forces continued at dawn on Monday to storm several cities and towns in the West Bank, and launched a large-scale raid and arrest campaign.
The occupation forces stormed an 8-story building in the city of Dura, south of Hebron Governorate. The storming took more than 3 hours, during which a number of the building’s residents were detained, before the occupation forces arrested the freed prisoner, Iyad Amr, and took him to an unknown destination after beating and assaulting him, according to what his family told Tel Aviv Tribune.
The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the city of Ramallah, surrounded a residential building in the Al-Tira neighborhood, and confiscated a vehicle, before withdrawing from the place.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent reported that more than 30 military vehicles raided the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, stormed a school in Beitunia and several homes, and arrested three Palestinians, including a freed prisoner and a military intelligence officer, before withdrawing from the town.
The occupation forces stormed the eastern region of the city of Nablus, north of the West Bank, the Dheisheh camp in the city of Bethlehem, and the town of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron. The raids also included the village of Shuqba, west of Ramallah, and the Al-Jinan neighborhood in Al-Bireh, the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, and the city of Qalqilya, north of the West Bank.
Clashes broke out between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation forces during their raid on the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, where they carried out a sweep in the town.
The occupation forces raided the Al-Baajwa neighborhood in the town, arrested a number of young men, and searched cars. It also intensified its military presence in the vicinity of the town, and deployed snipers on the roofs of buildings.
The occupation forces stormed the Kafr Saba neighborhood, west of Tulkarm, and deployed infantry teams and snipers, and are currently besieging a number of buildings and homes in the neighborhood.
Penalties on settlers
Meanwhile, on Monday, settlers attacked farmers and olive pickers in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus.
Local sources reported that a group of settlers attacked olive pickers in the Old Yanun Street area, and fired gunshots to intimidate citizens and force them to leave their lands.
In this context, a European official said that the foreign ministers of the European Union countries intend to evaluate options for imposing sanctions on settlers involved in acts of violence in the West Bank.
According to the official, the foreign ministers will meet on December 11 and 12 to discuss the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and will discuss ways to remove obstacles to the two-state solution.
The official also added that sanctions on Hamas will be one of the most important items on the discussion table during the ministers’ meeting.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Agencies + Palestinian press