Israeli Arabs have declared a general strike on Tuesday in protest of the military campaign in Gaza and recent tensions within the country.
The move was initiated by the Arab High Follow-Up Committee, led by former member of Knesset Mohammad Barakeh, and will focus mainly on supposed Israeli aggressions at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the eastern part of the city following a land rights dispute with Jewish residents.
Dozens of masked individuals riot in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm and set fire to tires on a road leading to a police station
As part of the labor action, Arab activists will stand at the entrances to Arab communities in the morning hours and ask locals not to go out to work. The strike will reportedly include all businesses and industries except for private education.
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Dozens of masked individuals riot in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm and set fire to tires on a road leading to a police station
Furthermore, the committee announced that it will coordinate peaceful protest activities nationwide with the assistance of local municipalities and activists.
Strike-associated demonstrations are possible at popular protest venues, including public squares and near government buildings.
A general strike and a day of rage have been also declared on the West Bank, with the Palestinian ruling faction Fatah calling for confrontations with Israeli security forces. Monday evening, armed men marched through the streets of Ramallah in preparation for the day of rage.
Armed Palestinians march through the streets of Ramallah
Palestinians also fired from a moving vehicle at an IDF force stationed outside the Palestinian village of Halhul near the settlement of Kiryat Arba. The soldiers returned fire. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Several riots erupted Monday night across the country's mixed cities and Arab communities.
In the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, dozens of masked individuals rioted and set fire to tires on a road leading to a police station. In the Abu Tur neighborhood in East Jerusalem, a pipe bomb was lobbed at the balcony of a house. A police sapper was called to the scene. No injuries were reported.
Rioters throw a pipe bomb in East Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood
Police also arrested a 22-year-old resident of the southern Bedouin town of Tel Sheva on suspicion of posting threats to murder Jews on nationalist grounds on the app Tiktok.
The suspect allegedly uploaded a video in which he said, "look what we will do to you, what holiday we will do to you" and "I will kill you". His attorney said he did not intend to carry out the threat. The Magistrate's Court in Be'er Sheva remanded his detention by three days.