Palestinians in West Bank and East Jerusalem go on strike over war in Gaza
‘Global general strike’ in support of Gaza sees many businesses closed in Palestinian areas, as well as Jordan and Lebanon; does not extend beyond the region

Businesses, schools and government offices shut across the West Bank and East Jerusalem Monday as Palestinians staged a general strike protesting against the war in the Gaza Strip.
The strike was organized by Palestinian national and Islamic groups, labor unions, and civil society organizations in solidarity with the people of Gaza, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Universities, banks, businesses, factories and public transportation companies all participated in the strike throughout the main cities of the West Bank, including Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Qalqilya.
Essam Abu Baker, who coordinates Palestinian factions in Ramallah, described the protest as part of a global effort to put pressure on Israel to stop the war. “The strike today is not only in solidarity with Gaza, but also against the USA which used its veto in the Security Council against a truce,” he said, referring to the US veto on Friday.
In Ramallah, marchers held a long placard with the names of the Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the war – which currently number around 18,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The figure cannot be independently verified and is believed to include some 7,000 Hamas terrorists, as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets.
A general strike in solidarity with Gaza was also declared in other parts of the Arab-Muslim world, with many businesses closed in Jordanian and Lebanese cities and in Istanbul in what activists called a “worldwide general strike for Gaza” – even though it stopped short of reaching beyond the Middle East.

In Lebanon, public institutions, banks, schools and universities closed after the government decided on a nationwide strike in solidarity with Gaza and with border areas in the south, which have seen intensifying exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and Hezbollah.
The stoppage was also observed in Istanbul’s western Esenyurt district, where many businesses are owned by residents from the Palestinian territories, Syria, Yemen and Iran.
Footage on social media showed deserted streets and Palestinian flags billowing.
In East Jerusalem’s Old City, nearly all shops were closed with the exception of essential businesses such as groceries and pharmacies. “We want the war to stop,” said Nasser, a 65-year-old coffee shop owner who gave only his first name. He has not heard from friends in war-torn Gaza for weeks, and doesn’t know if they are dead or alive.
He said he had little to lose by closing his shop along the Via Dolorosa, a Christian pilgrimage route. “We’ve had no business anyway since the war started,” he said, after the outbreak of violence prompted visitor numbers to plummet.

The few shopkeepers who did open said they had strong reasons for doing so. “I need to work to feed my baby son,” said a young Palestinian barber. He did not give his name, explaining that he was ashamed to open his shop in the Old City.
“I should respect the strike, but I have no choice. I have a one-year-old at home and I haven’t had work since the start of the war. That’s the ugly truth.”
On Sunday, Hamas, an Islamist terror group that openly seeks to destroy Israel, issued a statement welcoming the “global” protest initiative, and calling for more demonstrations across the world to pressure Israel to stop its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s war with Hamas began after the terror group’s shock onslaught on October 7 in which thousands of terrorists burst into southern Israel from Gaza, killing more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians slaughtered in their homes, communities and at a music festival, and seizing some 240 hostages.
Israel launched an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation through which the country has vowed to topple Hamas and end the terror group’s 16-year rule in the Strip.