West Bank strike highlights Palestinian frustrations with ‘symbolic’ gestures of protest
A closed shop during a general strike protesting Israel’s renewed genocide in Gaza, Nablus, 7 April 2025
Qassam Muaddi reports in Mondoweiss on 8 April 2025:
Palestinians across the West Bank observed a general strike on Monday protesting the renewed Israeli genocide in Gaza. The strike was observed in all West Bank cities and towns and joined by all civil society bodies. The Palestinian Teachers’ Union announced the halt of all classes, while the Palestinian Bar Association announced that all lawyers and judges were called to abstain from attending court hearings. The “national and Islamic forces,” the coalition of all Palestinian political parties, also called for the general strike. It was observed by all of Palestinian society in the West Bank, including businesses and public transportation.
The strike echoed a global call for a general strike in solidarity with Gaza. Although no central entity called for the strike in Palestine, different Palestinian entities consecutively announced that they would join the global strike a day ahead of when it was set to take place.
But despite the broad participation of all Palestinians in the West Bank-wide action, the protests remained contained and subdued, with some describing the demonstrations as performative or “symbolic.”
In Ramallah and Nablus, thousands of Palestinians marched in the cities’ streets, which remained confined to the city centers and started and ended without incident. One slight exception was when Palestinian police arrested four protesters in Ramallah, claiming that the protesters had raised Hamas flags. Palestinian protesters had gathered in front of the Palestinian police center in Ramallah and demanded the release of the detainees. Two of them were later released.
More marches were reported in several towns and villages in the Nablus and Ramallah regions. Some protests and strikes were observed in other countries, with rallies reported in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, while in southern Lebanon, some schools were closed on Monday as part of the strike.