Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Nablus hold strike amid manhunt for Shuafat shooter
Businesses shuttered in solidarity with refugee camp, where Israeli forces have been clashing with locals as they search for suspect in killing of soldier at nearby checkpoint
Palestinians launched a rare general strike in East Jerusalem Wednesday over a days-long operation by Israeli security forces in the Shuafat refugee camp, after a soldier was shot dead and a security guard critically wounded.
Businesses were shuttered in Jerusalem’s Old City and along the main commercial street of the city’s eastern sector, which is usually bustling with shoppers and traffic.
The strike follows the killing on Saturday of an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint near the Shuafat refugee camp, which prompted a massive manhunt for the suspected attacker, who remains on the run.
Security personnel have clashed with Palestinian rioters in the camp, including on Wednesday.
Entrances to the refugee camp have been mostly shut, while the raids have affected schools and healthcare.
In Jerusalem’s Old City, Nawal Jodeh said her daughter lives in the camp with her family.
“When I talked to her, she said the situation is bad there,” the 50-year-old told AFP. “I heard the sound of shooting and tear gas canisters.”
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said the violence and extra checkpoints had prompted it to close its schools and healthcare center in the camp.
“The situation is really tense there on the ground,” spokesman Kazem Abu Khalaf told AFP, adding that tons of uncollected garbage are piling up.
During a visit to the camp on Tuesday, Arab Israeli MK Ahmad Tibi charged that the security operation amounted to “collective punishment.”
“Sick people are not able to get outside to be treated, bakeries are empty, some physicians and doctors and nurses were not able to get in,” he told AFP.
The strike across Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem came as Jewish residents gathered in the city to mark the week-long Sukkot holiday.
Israeli police have deployed reinforcements for the holiday amid a recent spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
A second IDF soldier was shot dead Tuesday in an attack near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
The military said Wednesday it had blocked roads leading to the city, where Palestinians were also observing the strike.
Security forces have launched near-daily raids in the West Bank in recent months, sparked by a series of deadly attacks on Israelis. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the operations, many of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces.
