A general strike has brought large parts of public life in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to a standstill.

Wednesday's protest is directed against a new law in Israel that would make the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of lethal terrorist attacks.

The Fatah organization of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the strike. According to eyewitnesses, it was widely observed. The organizers urged people to avoid clashes with Israeli soldiers at checkpoints.

The Israeli parliament had approved the law on Monday by a narrow majority.

It provides that the death penalty or life imprisonment may be imposed for terrorist-motivated murder aimed at the destruction of the State of Israel.

In such cases, the death penalty is mandatory for Israeli military courts in the Palestinian territories.

The law must now be reviewed by Israel's Supreme Court. The international reaction to it has been has been largely critical.

Opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing religious government of knowingly harming Israel's international reputation with the legislation, even as they acknowledged that the Supreme Court would likely strike it down.