General strikes across West Bank after assassination of Hamas’s al-Arouri
A general strike has been called across the cities of the occupied West Bank in protest against the assassination of seven members of Hamas, including the deputy head of its political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri.
The strike was called by Palestinian armed groups that asked people to stay home on Wednesday and only leave to march in demonstrations against the drone attack on the outskirts of Beirut.
The slain men are Saleh al-Arouri, who was also the commander of the Qassam Brigades in the occupied West Bank; Samir Fendi, who commanded the Qassam Brigades in Lebanon; Azzam al-Aqraa, who commanded the Qassam Brigades in southern Lebanon; and members Mahmoud Shaheen, Mohammed al-Rayes, Mohammed Bashasha and Ahmed Hamoud.
All seven will be buried in Lebanon. Funerals will be held for Hamoud and Shaheen on Wednesday in the Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees and Taalbaya, respectively. Al-Arouri will be buried on Thursday in the Shatila refugee camp while Fendi is to be buried on Friday in the Rashidiya refugee camp and Mohammed Bashasha will be buried on the same day in Sidon.
In al-Arouri’s hometown
Al-Arouri came from Aroura, a town near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Many locals were mourning his death, and streams of visitors went in and out of his family home on Wednesday to pay their respects.
His sister Dalal Muhammad Suleiman, 52, described his passing as a seismic event and praised his humility and strength of character, saying he was “like a mountain”.
But her brother had long reflected on the likelihood of his death, she added.
“Even though losing him is a deep wound, we will take comfort in knowing that he followed his chosen path to the end. He devoted himself to the struggle,” she said.
When al-Arouri was younger, Suleiman said, he had “a love for altruism, bravery and a dedication to giving more to others than to himself”.
