RAMALLAH, West Bank—Dozens of taxi drivers have snarled traffic in several West Bank cities to protest rising fuel prices and the government's refusal to allow them to raise fares.

The protests early Thursday caused traffic jams stretching to up to four kilometers (three miles) in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron and Bethlehem.

Small demonstrations have been staged across the West Bank in recent days to protest the rising cost of living. Teachers and Ramallah shop owners joined Thursday's strikes.

The Palestinian Authority has been hit hard by a cash crisis that has prevented it from paying full salaries to thousands of civil servants.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the target of many of the protests, has appealed to international donor nations to fulfill pledges to send money to his government.