Bethlehem Together - The Higher Follow-up Committee for Arab Society in Israel announced today (Thursday) a general strike on October 1, marking the 24th anniversary of the October 2000 events, which claimed the lives of 13 people from the Arab community. The committee said in a statement that the strike comes in protest against the war of extermination that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for 11 months, with the support of major powers, most notably the United States. The committee called for mass mobilization to make the strike a success, and to organize a central march in the Battouf area. The head of the committee, Mohammed Baraka, pointed to the escalation of Israeli aggression in the West Bank, especially in the areas of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus, and said that the committee "has not stood idly by since the beginning of these attacks." He also stressed "the need to intensify protest activities and unify relief efforts despite the restrictions of the occupation. Baraka said, "The strike that we are announcing today, we had proposed in our meeting at the beginning of last July, and at the top of its topics was the war of extermination, but also the spread of violent crime as a result of the collusion and support of the ruling authority for criminal gangs, and the spread of crimes of destroying Arab homes, with a special focus on the Negev." The meeting also discussed the brutal attacks on Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons, including torture, starvation and denial of medical services. The head of the Freedoms Committee, Kamal Khatib, proposed holding a special meeting to follow up on this issue with the participation of specialists and the prisoners' families. At the end of the meeting, the committee approved a set of decisions, most notably organizing a broad media campaign to support the strike, turning the current academic year into a year to combat violence and crime in Arab society, holding a special meeting to discuss the conditions of Palestinian prisoners, in addition t o strengthening relief efforts for the people of Gaza and the West Bank. Source: Maan News Agency