HEBRON, Monday, December 09, 2019 (WAFA) – A general strike was today observed in the occupied southern West Bank city of Hebron in protest against Israeli settlement plans in the occupied section of the Palestinian city, according to local sources.

The strike, called for by President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, came following revelation of plans to build a new settlement in place of Hebron’s wholesale market in the old section of the city and Israel’s targeting of  the Ibrahimi Mosque as well as confiscating Palestinian land and property in an effort to change the facts on the ground.

Fatah said that it will do all it can to stop the Israeli measures in Hebron.

A section of Hebron, referred to as H2 and which includes the old town and the Ibrahimi Mosque area, remained under Israeli military control following the signing to the Oslo accords while the rest of the city, referred to as H1, became under full Palestinian control.

Israel intends to turn the handful of settlements and settlers in the old section into a large settlement bloc in order offset the status of the largest West Bank city.

K.T./M.K.