Palestinian shops and businesses across the West Bank and Gaza Strip closed Monday, August 13, as Palestinians launched a general strike to protest Israel's occupation of their unofficial headquarters in Jerusalem.
In the main towns of Ramallah, Gaza, Nablus, Hebron and Tulkarim, as well as in east Jerusalem, all sectors were closed down, including administrative centers, universities, shops and markets.
The shut-down, the first general strike of the 10-month Palestinian uprising, or intifada, was called in protest against Israel's occupation early Friday of Orient House, seen by Palestinians as the seat of parliament of a future independent state.
Israeli took over the symbolic building in occupied east Jerusalem as retribution for a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem last Thursday, which killed 16 people, including the bomber. ― (AFP, Ramallah)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
