<b>Live updates: Follow the latest on </b><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/03/27/live-israel-gaza-war-hamas/"><b>Israel-Gaza</b></a> Normal life ground to a halt in the occupied <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/west-bank/" target="_blank">West Bank</a> on Monday as <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/palestine/" target="_blank">Palestinians</a> observed a general strike called by civil society groups in one of the most important acts of political opposition to the Gaza war throughout its 18 months. Shops, schools and roads were empty, with only essential services staying open, such as bakeries and healthcare facilities. Demonstrations were held in major Palestinian cities, including Ramallah and Nablus. The strike, which one faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, called "the Day of Great Rage and Civil Disobedience against Genocide", was in solidarity with Gaza as Israel intensifies attacks and ground operations after resuming military operations in the enclave last month. Israel's renewed bombardment that began on March 18, ending two months of ceasefire, has been among the deadliest of the entire the war. At the same time, the Israeli military has stepped up operations to <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/04/04/israels-planned-morag-corridor-threatens-vital-food-source-for-gaza/" target="_blank">seize control</a> of more than 50 per cent of Gaza's territory, an analysis by the Associated Press found. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday at least 50,752 Palestinians have been killed and 115,475 wounded in the war, which was triggered when Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages. In the run up to the strike, the PFLP said “it is time for immediate action, to show that the Palestinian people, the people of our nation, and the free people of the world do not accept this reality, and that complicity and negligence cannot be silenced”. Dimitri Diliani, a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, said the strike has been “air tight”. He added: “This anger has been boiling for some time, especially after Israel broke the ceasefire agreement in March. Since then, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/03/13/israeli-attacks-on-gaza-reproductive-facilities-genocidal/" target="_blank">genocide</a> has been intensifying. The fact that journalists are calling and asking about the strike symbolises that it has succeeded." In East Jerusalem, over which Israel has complete control, Palestinians shut their businesses and pupils did not turn up for school despite the risk of punishment from authorities. There has been a severe crackdown by Israeli authorities on Palestinian political expression and freedom of speech since the war began. The vast majority of Palestinian-owned shops in the Old City were closed, despite a recent rise in the number of tourists, a vital source of income, who have been <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2024/02/23/the-palestinian-hotelier-on-the-front-line-of-jerusalems-economic-crisis/" target="_blank">largely absent</a> throughout the war. Mass absences by Palestinian pupils were reported at schools run by the city’s Israeli municipality. “My home happens to be surrounded by one school and three kindergartens, all run by the Israeli occupation government,” Mr Diliani said. "There are no students there and I can see some of the teachers just sunbathing in the playground." The strike was also expected to inspire acts of solidarity overseas, with calls for vigils, demonstrations and social media campaigns. Demonstrations were reported in Tunisia, Morocco and Bangladesh, among other nations. The Palestinian Authority (PA), which is supposed to govern areas of the occupied West Bank despite mounting weakness and intense criticism for enabling Israeli control in the territory, has expressed support for the strike. Anti-PA slogans were chanted during a demonstration in Ramallah, where the authority is based. Two people were reportedly arrested by PA security forces. Israeli forces also tightened checkpoints around the city of Nablus. A small vigil for the victims of the war took place in the Israeli city of Nazareth, which has a high Palestinian population, news agency Wafa reported. Israeli police arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank, who, according to Hebrew media reports, was travelling to carry out an attack inside Israel.
