General strike held in occupied territories over Israeli assassination of Palestinian near al-Aqsa Mosque

A general strike has been held across towns and cities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories following the Israeli regime’s assassination of a Palestinian youth near the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds on the second Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan.

Palestinian media said the strike, organized by the Higher Follow-up Committee for the Arab Masses in Occupied Palestine, spread inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories on Sunday in response to the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Muhammad al-Osibi by the Israeli occupation forces near the Chain Gate, one of the entrances to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

“The committee called for the organization of struggle vigils in various Arab towns this evening in response to the crime, after it organized vigils in a number of Arab towns yesterday evening,” Palestine’s official Wafa news agency said.

The news agency stressed that the committee plans to turn Osibi’s funeral in his hometown of Hura in the occupied Negev into a mass demonstration against “all policies of occupation, oppression and racial discrimination.”

Palestine’s Shehab news agency shared photos of the all-out strike across various towns and cities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israeli forces opened fire at Osibi on Friday evening as he tried to protect a Palestinian girl who was being prevented by the occupation troops from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and assaulted at the Chain Gate.

After the shooting, the Israeli military closed the doors of al-Aqsa Mosque and mobilized a large number of its forces in the courtyards of the holy site and imposed restrictions in the Old City.

Thousands of Muslim worshipers crossed Israeli military checkpoints deployed early on Friday morning before arriving at al-Aqsa Mosque for the second Friday prayers of Ramadhan.

Since the start of the holy month, the Israeli regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the gates of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Footage from some of the gates showed Palestinians scuffling with Israeli forces who blocked the gates. A number of Palestinians were arrested at the scene.