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AFP. 10 March 2002. Arabs stage general strike across territories and Israel. NAZARETH -- Arabs across the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in Israel staged a general strike Sunday to commemorate "Black Friday," when 46 people were killed, including 40 Palestinians, two days ago. Israeli Arabs called a strike to express solidarity with the Palestinians following days of deadly raids in autonomous towns and refugee camps in the territories. Shops and schools were shut, while public transport came to a halt in Nazareth, Sahnin, Umm el-Fahm and the other major towns of the Israeli Arab community, which accounts for 18 percent of the Jewish state's total population, AFP correspondents said. About 5,000 protestors staged a demonstration in the northern town of Kafr Kana and denounced Israel's military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as "terrorism." "We are in solidarity with the Palestinian people, mainly in their fight against the policies of Sharon," Hadash communist party MP Issam Makhoul told AFP at the rally, speaking of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "We have the same blood as our Palestinian brothers. It's Sharon who should be locked up, not Arafat," he said, referring to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has been confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah by the Isareli military for three months. The strike also affected east Jerusalem, but no incidents were immediately reported. The Israeli Arab community, effectively the descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who stayed on their land when the state of Israel was created in 1948, has voiced frequent criticism of Sharon's hardline stance towards the Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, which has been hit by Israeli air raids and tank incursions every night for days, Palestinians also staged a general strike. Schools, shops and markets were closed for the day, and traffic was light. The stoppage was called by Arafat's Palestinian Authority, as well as the National and Islamic Forces, an umbrella group of 14 militant Palestinian movements, to commemorate "Black Friday." The strike also was observed in the West Bank, which has been badly hit since the Israeli army stepped up its sweeps for suspected Palestinian militants inside refugee camps 10 days ago. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
