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Palestinians strike in solidarity with hunger-striking prisoners

Palestinians went on strike, closing down business and institutions, in solidarity with some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike.

May 22, 2017 at 12:40 pm

Palestinians observed a general strike today, shuttering businesses and institutions en masse in support of more than 1,600 Palestinians who have been on hunger strike in Israeli prisons since 17 April.

Palestinian activists also blocked roads in the central occupied West Bank to prevent commuters from accessing occupied Ramallah.

The media committee for the Freedom and Dignity Hunger Strike said in a statement that it was:

The first time since the First Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993) that a general strike was observed in occupied West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied in 1948 (present-day Israel), and in the diaspora.

The committee urged Palestinians to gather at one of the many sit-in tents established in support of the strike at 11:00 to prepare for political rallies organised for later in the day.

The statement also called upon Palestinians to undertake a 12-hour “hunger strike”, and fast between 10:00-22:00 today in solidarity with hunger-striking prisoners, who are calling for an end to the denial of family visits, the right to pursue higher education, appropriate medical care and treatment, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial.

Read: Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners struggling to stand

Schools, banks and public transport facilities are all taking part in the strike, though hospitals and emergency services remained open.

Earlier this morning, Palestinian activists blocked off all roads leading to the central occupied West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh with large rocks and burned tyres to ensure people adhere to the general strike, witnesses told Ma’an.

In Ramallah city, all stores, shops and factories remained closed and the streets were almost completely deserted.

The general strike also coincides with US President Donald Trump’s arrival to Israel. He will later meet with both the Israeli president and prime minister in Jerusalem.

In addition to the general strike, the committee for the Freedom and Dignity strike has also called for a “Day of Rage” tomorrow, when Trump is expected to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.