Palestinians in the West Bank held a general strike on Sunday to demand Protest against Israeli military attacks A day earlier, at least 10 people were killed in a refugee camp, an incident illustrating the ongoing unrest in the territory.
The attack was the latest in a sweeping economic and security crackdown by Israel in the territories it occupies, even as it wages a war against Hamas in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and detained in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in what Israeli officials say is a counterterrorism operation targeting Hamas and other armed groups.
Sunday’s strike paralyzed “all aspects of life” in the West Bank, with shops, schools, universities and banks closed, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. Public transportation also came to a standstill.
This is not the first closure of the occupied West Bank – where some 500,000 Israeli settlers live alongside some 2.7 million Palestinians – it is Protests in recent months. Since October 7, Israeli authorities have tightened restrictions on the territory, canceling thousands of work permits that allowed Palestinians to work in Israel and squeezing the West Bank’s economy.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply in recent months. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the war between Israel and Hamas began. Deadly violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has also reached record levels since October 7.
Two teenage Palestinian men were shot dead by Israeli forces early Sunday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli military said one of them opened fire on soldiers at a military post in northern Hebron and another tried to stab them.
An Israeli man was slightly injured in an explosion in the West Bank late Sunday morning, according to Israeli emergency services.video clip Israeli news media share He was pictured kicking down a Palestinian flag from a pole in a field near the settlement. The flag appears to be booby-trapped.
These incidents occurred during the Israeli military hours-long raid Saturday in the Noor Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank. The military called the raid a counterterrorism operation and said the 10 people killed were militants, but this could not immediately be confirmed.
However, the Palestinian Ministry said that Israeli operations in Nour Shams killed at least 14 people, including a 15-year-old boy. The Fatah party, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, called the operation a “heinous” crime and called on residents of the occupied territories to protest the attack.
US calls on Israel Increase business engagement and the West Bank, arguing that doing so is important to both Palestinians and Israelis. The war also had an impact on the Israeli economy; Shrunk by nearly 20% The fourth quarter of last year.
