"The national and Islamic factions in Palestine announce a comprehensive strike and anger marches to (protest) the assassination of the great national leader Ismail Haniyeh, which came in the framework of Zionist state terrorism and its war of extermination," the Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank said in a joint statement.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that he "condemns the assassination of leader Haniyeh and calls on our people and their forces to unite and stand firm".

In an unusual display of solidarity with his main political rival, Abbas called for a day of mourning for the man he had named prime minister in 2006 and dismissed in 2007. Flags are to be flown at half-mast.

The prime minister's office in Ramallah condemned "the treacherous assassination" of Haniyeh, and called on Palestinians to remain united "in the face of the (Israeli) occupation".

AFP journalists in Ramallah reported that employees of government ministries left their offices in response to the strike call.

Shops closed and employees left work in several cities in the occupied West Bank, while cultural institutions announced they would remain closed.

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