UPDATE - Shutdown protesting Israeli air raids paralyzes life in West Bank, East Jerusalem

UPDATES WITH ISRAELI ARMY PLACING BARRIERS AT ENTRANCES OF WEST BANK

By Qais Abu Samra and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi Duran

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A general strike condemning the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip paralyzed life in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on Sunday.

“The comprehensive strike includes all governorates of the West Bank, and it represents a Palestinian message of anger over the crimes of the occupation,” Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told Anadolu.

He pointed out that the military operation in Gaza "requires international intervention to protect the Palestinian people."

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Education closed all the educational institutions.

Later on Sunday, the Israeli army placed barriers at the entrances of cities in the occupied West Bank.

The army set up barriers made of earth, concrete and iron at the entrances of cities in the West Bank, cutting off connections between the cities, according to the information obtained from local sources.

There have been reports about the Israeli army setting up additional military checkpoints in various areas and opening fire on vehicles attempting to approach these checkpoints.

Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday and said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence. It said it fired rockets and captured many Israelis.

At least 350 Israelis were killed and over 1,860 injured in the attack, while several soldiers and civilians were captured by Hamas and taken back to Gaza.

Israel retaliated with a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which left at least 313 Palestinians dead and nearly 2,000 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi and Zehra Nur Duz