RAMALLAH: Palesti­nian shops and public institutions were closed across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday in protest against the new Israeli law permitting the execution of Palestinians.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party had called for a general strike the previous day.

In the Palestinian territory’s main cities of Heb­ron, Ramallah, and Nablus, most stores were closed with their shutters down at midday, AFP journalists reported.

In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority north of Jerusalem, entire shopping centres were closed as well as the city’s main market.

People gathered to march against the law backed by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“It’s a crazy law to be passed, it’s insane,” said Mohammed Gussein, a 24-year-old student at Al-Quds University, which like all Palestinian universities, was on strike.

“It’s completely out of touch with humanity, and completely racist,” he said.

Riman, 53, said, “There is no Palestinian family without a prisoner.”

Under the controversial law, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by Israeli military courts of attacks classified as “terrorism” will face death penalty.

The law has drawn criticism from across the world, with some European powers describing it as “close to aparthied’.

Because Palestinians in the territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, the measure effectively creates a separate and harsher legal track.

On social media, Palestinians shared images of tyres being burnt at the Qalandia checkpoint in protest of the Israeli move.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026