Sunday’s demonstration, attended by thousands of people in Ramallah’s al-Manara Square, came after a wave of calls from social activists and journalists for solidarity with the people of Gaza.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against the Palestinian Authority’s sanctions on Gaza, demanding that the Gazan employees receive their salaries and those injured during the “Great March of Return" protests in Gaza get medical treatment.
Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has imposed a series of punitive measures against the Gaza Strip, halting salary payments to thousands of government employees and refusing to pay for the strip’s electricity in an attempt to mount pressure on Hamas.
The sanctions have infuriated the people of Gaza -inhabited by some 1.8 million residents- who already suffer from harsh humanitarian conditions, power outages, and insufficient water and food stuff.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior spokesman for Hamas, has praised the popular demonstration in Ramallah, describing it as a step in the right path.