General strike takes place in WB as Israeli-Palestinian tension continues

A general strike took place in the West Bank on Tuesday in protest against Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have been going on for nine days, eyewitnesses said, reported Xinhua.

They said that the general strike included the closure of stores, markets, schools, universities, banks as well as the public and private sector, adding that transportation also stopped all over the West Bank.

On Monday, several Palestinian factions called for a general strike in the Palestinian territories and rallies in protest against the Israeli military offensive waged on the Gaza Strip.

Spokesman for the Palestinian government Ibrahim Milhem told reporters that all government ministries and establishments joined the general strike.

"The general strike is to express outrage for the aggression that Israel is waging against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and in East Jerusalem," he said, adding that "the health ministry was excluded from the general strike."

On Tuesday, Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said that Israeli fighter jets carried out dozens of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting homes, apartments, roads, and agricultural fields.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a statement that the fighter jets targeted a network of underground tunnels belong to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

The statement said that 60 fighter jets participated in the aerial strikes, adding that around 100 missiles were fired on Hamas targets within 35 minutes early on Tuesday morning.

It also said that militant groups, led by Hamas, had fired 90 rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli towns and cities, adding that the Israeli army "Iron Dome" managed to intercept 70 of the fired rockets.

The health ministry in Gaza said that since the start of the tit-for-tat Israeli-Palestinian military confrontation, 212 Palestinians were killed, including 61 children, 36 women, and 16 elderly men, and 1,400 were injured.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that Gaza militants had fired 3,150 rockets at Israel since the beginning of the fighting nine days ago, adding that 10 Israelis were killed and around 300 were injured.

Raed Fatouh, an official in the Palestinian liaison with Israel, in charge of coordinating entrance of goods to Gaza, said that Erez crossing with Israel will reopen for the purpose of foreign officials' movements between Gaza and Israel.

He said in a press statement that the commercial crossing of the Kerem Shalom crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel will also be reopened for the purpose of transporting fuel and basic goods.