The 34 hour Arab general strike called to protest the Cabinet’s decision to establish a Jewish presence in Hebron was only partially effective on the West Bank today and virtually ignored in the Gaza Strip.
Schools remained closed in most West Bank towns but the shut-down of shops and business establishments was sporadic. The strike was only partial in Kalkilya and Tulkarem but more strictly observed in Nablus. The market place in East Jerusalem was closed. Most Hebron workers employed in the adjacent. Jewish township of Kiryat Arab showed up for work today despite Mayor Fahed Kawasme’s call for a boycott.
The only reported incident occurred in the university town of Bir Zeit north of Ramallah where students at a political rally stoned a passing Israeli military truck. Soldiers in the truck fired into the air and other military units rushed to the scene and surrounded the town. No casualties or arrests were reported.
The populace in the Gaza Strip did not support the West Bank strike. Actually all shops and schools were open and workers employed in Israel left for their jobs as usual.
Meanwhile, there has been an official reaction to Mayor Kawasme ‘s strongly anti-Israel speech in the Hebron town hall yesterday although the authorities were reportedly “looking into” his comments. He called for civil disobedience. “This is the end of the period of protests, rallies and petitions,” he said. “We shall now have to use all available means. “He also promised that “the Zionist empire” will fall, just as the British and Nazi empires fell. Kawasme said that “Personally, I find it easier to be deported from my homeland than to accept the settlement of Jews in Hebron.”
Another strong speech was made by Sheikh Rajeb Bouyoud A-Tamimi, who called for a “holy war” to return “not only Hebron and Al-Aksa (the mosque in East Jerusalem) but also Jaffa, Haifa and Acre” to the Arabs. A speech by Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem was moderate in contrast. While he promised that Bethlehem would join in any protest action, he hinted that there was a chance the Cabinet’s decision could be reversed by political means.
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