Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem staged a general strike and mass protests on Wednesday, April 1, opposing a new ‘Israeli’ law that imposes the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.
Shops, universities, and public institutions shut down in response to a call from Fatah, the party of Mahmoud Abbas, as hundreds took to the streets in cities including Ramallah and Nablus.
In Ramallah, demonstrators marched through the city chanting slogans against the law, which is backed by ‘Israeli’ National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Protesters called on the international community to intervene and reverse the legislation, which they say formalizes a system of unequal justice.
Under the new law, passed by ‘Israel’s’ parliament, the Knesset, Palestinians in the West Bank convicted by military courts of attacks classified as “terrorism” will face the death penalty as a default sentence. Because Palestinians are tried in military courts while Israeli citizens are subject to civilian courts, critics say the law establishes a separate and harsher legal track.
At demonstrations, participants carried signs warning of the consequences of the measure. “Stop the law to execute prisoners, before it’s too late,” read one banner.
The protests also highlighted broader concerns about conditions in ‘Israeli’ detention facilities. More than 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in ‘Israeli’ prisons, including children and women. Human rights groups say detainees face abuse, including torture, starvation, and medical neglect.
“There isn’t a single person standing here who doesn’t have a relative in prison,” said Riman, a protester in Ramallah. “There is no Palestinian family without a prisoner.”
Clashes were reported at several locations. At the Qalandia checkpoint, protesters burned tyres while ‘Israeli’ forces responded with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas, according to local reports.
In some areas, ‘Israeli’ forces intervened to disrupt the strike. In the town of Anata, near Jerusalem, soldiers reportedly forced shop owners to reopen their businesses despite the shutdown.
The law has drawn international criticism. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that its application in occupied Palestinian territory could constitute a war crime.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence has surged in the territory amid the ongoing war in Gaza. For many Palestinians, the new law is seen as a further escalation in a system of control that already affects nearly every family.
As protests continued, demonstrators said the strike was not only about the law itself, but about resisting what they view as an expanding framework of repression under military occupation.
