Ramallah- Paralysis has spread to all aspects of life in the West Bank, in compliance with the call of activists from around the world for a comprehensive strike – today, Monday – in rejection of the aggression on Gaza and to denounce the American veto against stopping the aggression in the Security Council.
Since last Saturday, activists from all over the world began calling for a “global strike” and a “global strike.” Then Palestinian political forces, factions, unions, and civil society organizations called for a strike, and shops, banks, schools, and governmental and private institutions closed their doors.
Coinciding with the strike, Palestinian forces and factions called for organizing sit-ins in Palestinian city centers and villages, and for escalation and clashes with the occupation army at contact points throughout the West Bank.
What is different about the current strike from its predecessors is that the call for it began outside the Palestinian territories, and then Palestine became part of it, which constituted a qualitative shift in the activities and events of the forces in solidarity with the cause around the world.
A global dimension
Member of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian People’s Party, Fahmi Shaheen, says that the importance of today’s strike is exceptional because of its global dimension, noting that it “came in condemnation from the peoples and free people of the world and the solidarity movements that can no longer tolerate this atrocity, open war crimes, and crimes of genocide against the Palestinian human being, specifically in the Gaza Strip.”
According to Shaheen, what the Israeli occupation state is launching is “an Israeli-American aggression par excellence, in management, implementation and supervision.”
He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the strike also comes “to denounce the American insistence on not ceasefire by using its veto against the ceasefire last Friday, which means giving the occupation the green light to continue slaughtering the Palestinian people.”
Regarding the importance of the strike in its global dimension, Shaheen said, “The strike conveys an immediate message to the international community, the United States and its Western allies, and holds them responsible for these crimes.”
The Palestinian politician expected “a positive impact of the strike by pressuring governments in America and Western Europe to intervene in order to lift the lid on this criminal aggression.”
Sit-ins and clashes
For his part, the coordinator of the political forces in the Ramallah region, Issam Abu Bakr, said, “The strike comes as a result of the silence and failure of the international institution to take a decision to stop the aggression, after the American veto.”
He added – in his speech to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that the strike includes “all aspects of life, including the commercial movement, banks, universities and institutes, in conjunction with marches in various cities and capitals of the world, and in front of the embassies of the occupying state and the United States in a number of countries of the world.”
Abu Bakr pointed out that the strike includes “activists in the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, and Britain closing metro stations and trains, which are a very important means of transportation that is resorted to and used by large sectors of Western societies.”
He also said, “The global demonstration is a message to the world calling on it to stand by the Palestinian people, and to affirm that the popular and human will is stronger than American hegemony and dictates.”
Abu Bakr stated that the strike in the West Bank paralyzed all aspects of life, coinciding with a sit-in and activities in city centers, and “this is not a day of vacation or rest, but rather a day for popular activities in support of our people in Gaza in the face of the bloodbath and massacres of the occupation, in confirmation of the unity of blood, position, and destiny.”
He continued that the strike comes in rejection of the fait accompli policy and the so-called “next day” in Gaza after the war and the arrangements that the United States is trying to create at the expense of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, considering that the strike confirms that the Palestinian people are not isolated, that their resistance is legitimate, and that building their state is an answer. His demands are an inherent and guaranteed right.
The idea of a strike
The Palestinian journalist and activist Israa Al-Sheikh, residing in Turkey, is referred to on social networks as the instigator of the strike idea, as she vigorously follows on her social media accounts the numbers and names of those joining the strike around the world, including companies, organizations and personalities.
Reviewing the social media networks, it becomes clear that her first post last Thursday included a call for a strike, in which she published a short video in which he talked about the concept, importance and impact of the strike as a form of peaceful resistance.
The Palestinian activist added that today’s strike is only the beginning of the campaign to stop the brutal aggression against Gaza and break the siege.
#Comprehensive_strike#StrikeForGaza
Start, spread, take the initiative, and do not be afraid.. It is a lonely and pure life.. pic.twitter.com/MRNWp2GDLO
– Esraa Alshikh Esraa Al-Sheikh (@Esralshikh) December 7, 2023
But the coordinator of the political forces in the Ramallah region says that the idea of the global strike was born during a meeting held – via Zoom technology – by about 70 legal and influential figures from around the world, especially South Africa and Latin America.
He continued that the meeting was held last weekend, and included leftist forces, movements, and solidarity committees with the Palestinian people, during which they stressed the importance of stopping the Israeli aggression. After the American veto against the ceasefire in Gaza, they announced their call for a strike across the globe, confirming that the world stands with the Palestinian people.
Abu Bakr mentioned prominent names who participated in the meeting, including “members of parliaments, prime ministers, and former ministers.”
Activists, politicians, and writers interacted with the campaign with several hashtags, including: #Comprehensive_Strike, #strikeforgaza, #GazaHoloucast, #CeasefireForNOW.
Since October 7, the occupation army has launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip, leaving as of Sunday evening more than 17,000 martyrs and about 50,000 wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
