TEL AVIV: Since Wednesday, protests, demonstrations, and strikes have been staged in cities, villages, and refugee camps across the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been the primary target of the protests. Protesters claim that his neoliberal economic policies have widened the inequality gap, created a humiliating dependency on foreign aid, and assisted the Israel occupation by creating economic pressures which created mass flight from the rural areas of the West Bank to the urban centers. On Wednesday in Hebron, protesters set tires on fire and hanged effigies of Fayyad in the city center. In Dheisheh Refugee Camp, hundreds called for the PM's resignation. In Ramallah, taxi drivers blocked the entrances to Al-Manara Square, the city's center, and demonstrated against the high cost of fuel. Two protesters set themselves on fire, one of which died. On the previous Sunday, a Gazan-youth died from self-immolation that was motivated by economic pressures. The protests continued throughout the week. On Saturday, hundreds amassed in Bethlehem and marched to the old city to protest against the cost of living as well as the Palestinian Authority's estrangement from the citizenry. “Abbas and Fayyad, come see the people's problems!" one sign read. In Nazareth, several hundred Palestinian citizens of Israel demonstrated in solidarity with their West Bank counterparts, protesting the rising cost of living as well as calling for an end to the 45-year-old military occupation. The event was organized by the Israeli Front for Equality and Peace, Hadash, and the Israeli Communist Party. On Sunday, it was reported the teachers union in the West Bank, including many other public sectors, would launch a full strike.
