RAMALLAH: Shops, schools and government offices shut across the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem on Monday as Palestinians staged a general strike protesting against Israel’s relentless onslaught in the Gaza Strip.

Activists had called for a strike in solidarity with the besieged territory covering businesses, public workers and education.

Many Palestinians took part and rallies were staged in the West Bank, according to Essam Abu Baker who coordinates Palestinian factions in Ramallah.

He described the protest as part of a global effort to put pressure on Israel to stop the aggression, reporting strikes taking place in parts of Jordan and Lebanon.

Protests also take place in Jordan and Lebanon

In Lebanon, public institutions, banks, schools and universities closed after the government decided on a nationwide strike in solidarity with Gaza and with border areas in the south, which have seen intensifying exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and Hezbollah.

The stoppage was also observed in Istanbul’s western Esenyurt district, where many businesses are owned by residents from the Palestinian territories, Syria, Yemen and Iran.

“The strike today is not only in solidarity with Gaza, but also against the USA which used its veto in the Security Council against a truce,” Abu Baker said in Ramallah, referring to the US rejection of a ceasefire resolution on Friday.

At a rally in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, demonstrators unfurled a huge list of names of the victims in Gaza. Whole families came out to protest, with parents carrying children on their shoulders.

In east Jerusalem’s Old City, many shops were closed. The sound of keys echoed in the bazaar as Palestinian business owners locked their brightly painted doors.

“We want the war to stop,” said Nasser, a 65-year-old coffee shop owner who gave only his first name.

He said he had little to lose by closing his shop along the Via Dolorosa, a Christian pilgrimage route.

“We’ve had no business anyway since the war started,” he said, after the outbreak of violence prompted visitor numbers to plummet. The few shopkeepers who did open said they had strong reasons for doing so.

Florist Raja Salama, 62, came to work to prepare wreaths of white roses for an elderly relative’s funeral. “I’m only open because the funeral is today,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2023