Israeli Arabs to Strike to Mark Start of Second Intifada

TEL AVIV – The Arab Higher Monitoring Committee announced a general strike on October 1 to mark 24 years since the October 2000 protests against the killing and stabbing of a number of Palestinian citizens in Israel by the Israeli military during the outbreak of the Second Intifada.

Between October 1-8, 2000, Israeli police officers shot dead 13 unarmed Palestinian youths, 12 Israeli citizens, and one Gazan.

The 13 deaths and hundreds of injuries occurred when Israeli police opened fire on Palestinians who took to the streets to protest the killing and stabbing of a number of Palestinians by the Israeli military in the Occupied Palestinian Territories during the outbreak of the Second Intifada.

In a statement issued yesterday, the committee said the strike would affect businesses, schools and public places across the Arab community and aims to protest Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the escalating violence against Palestinians in
The occupied West Bank, including recent military offensives in Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas.

The strike was also to express a collective stance against the ongoing destruction and violence faced by Arab citizens in Israel, including the demolition of Arab homes and rampant crime within the community.

Committee chairman Muhammad Baraka said the strike also aims to protest the unprecedented violence Palestinian prisoners face in Israeli jails, including torture, starvation and denial of medical services.

(she)