WEST BANK, (PIC)
A comprehensive strike paralyzed various aspects of life across the cities and towns of the occupied West Bank today, Wednesday, in rejection of the prisoner execution law approved by the Israeli Knesset, amid a state of widespread popular anger in the Palestinian street.
The strike, called for by Palestinian factions, included various vital sectors, as schools and universities were completely closed, including the suspension of electronic education, and public transportation movement stopped, while government sector employees committed to the strike, and banks and financial institutions closed their doors, alongside the closure of commercial shops in most cities.
The streets of major cities such as Ramallah, al-Khalil, Jenin, and Nablus appeared almost empty of movement since the morning hours, while city centers are expected to witness popular activities and protest marches rejecting the law during the noon hours.
The member of the Factional Coordination Committee in Palestine, Nasr Abu Jaish, said that the comprehensive strike “represents a unified national message confirming that the issue of prisoners will remain at the forefront of priorities, and that the Palestinian people with all their components categorically reject this racist law.”
He added that “the prisoner execution law constitutes a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in occupation policies, and aims to legitimize killing against prisoners inside prisons,” warning of its repercussions on the lives of thousands of prisoners, especially in light of the continuous violations they are subjected to.
Abu Jaish pointed out that the wide commitment to the strike in various governorates of the West Bank “reflects a state of true national consensus, and confirms the unity of the popular and factional position in facing this decision,” calling on the international community and human rights institutions to move urgently to pressure Israel to rescind this law.
He emphasized that the activities rejecting the law will continue during the coming days, explaining that the comprehensive strike “will not be the last step, but rather part of a series of popular and factional movements aimed at confronting this decision.”
In this context, the Fatah movement announced a comprehensive strike in the West Bank, and expressed its “strong condemnation and categorical rejection” of the law, considering that it “directly targets the prisoners of the Palestinian people, and is considered a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian laws and charters.”
It called for the launch of a comprehensive Palestinian movement, and the strengthening of Arab and international efforts to pressure for its downfall and to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
For its part, the Bar Association announced a suspension of work and a comprehensive strike, denouncing the law. The Secretary of the Association, Amjad al-Shalla, said that the association began sending messages to international bodies, headed by the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and a number of international institutions and organizations, to demand their intervention.
Al-Shalla emphasized that the association will not be satisfied with these steps, but will work in partnership with various Palestinian forces, activities, and institutions to confront the decision, calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross to bear its legal and moral responsibilities, and to practice its role in protecting prisoners from repression, torture, and killing.
The Israeli Knesset had ratified, on Monday, a draft law providing for the imposition of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners, and provides for the execution of the sentence by hanging by guards appointed by the Prison Service, while granting the executors confidentiality of identity and legal immunity.
The law allows the issuance of the death sentence without the need for a request from the Public Prosecution, and without the requirement of consensus, as the decision can be taken by a simple majority, and its application includes military courts that consider Palestinian cases in the West Bank, while granting the Minister of Security the right to express an opinion before the court panel.
More than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women, and they suffer, according to Palestinian human rights organizations, from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which led to the martyrdom of a number of them inside the prisons.
