2 apr 2020

Twenty-one new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the West Bank today, the highest in a single day since the outbreak of the disease, bringing total in Palestine to 155, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Ministry spokesman Kamal Shakhra said at the daily briefing on coronavirus in Palestine that most of the cases were of Palestinians who worked in Israel and returned home, and those who were in contact with them.
He said of the 21 new cases, 20 were from the Ramallah and Jerusalem-area villages and one in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
He called on the workers in Israel that as they return home this week as Israel celebrates the Jewish Passover holiday, which starts on Wednesday, to isolate themselves at their homes for two weeks.
The Health Ministry plans to check all the workers at they start returning home, estimating their number at around 60,000.
Israel reported so far over 6300 corona cases and 36 deaths, while Israeli official expect their numbers to soar in the coming days and weeks.
While only 155 cases are confirmed in Palestine so far, including one death and 18 recovered with 12 cases in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority fears this number may also increase if the returning workers are not isolated and properly checked.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has urged the World Health Organization to pressure Israel to check all the workers before it sends them home so that they will not thwart his government’s efforts to contain the disease and prevent its spread, as it has successfully done so far.
Ministry spokesman Kamal Shakhra said at the daily briefing on coronavirus in Palestine that most of the cases were of Palestinians who worked in Israel and returned home, and those who were in contact with them.
He said of the 21 new cases, 20 were from the Ramallah and Jerusalem-area villages and one in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
He called on the workers in Israel that as they return home this week as Israel celebrates the Jewish Passover holiday, which starts on Wednesday, to isolate themselves at their homes for two weeks.
The Health Ministry plans to check all the workers at they start returning home, estimating their number at around 60,000.
Israel reported so far over 6300 corona cases and 36 deaths, while Israeli official expect their numbers to soar in the coming days and weeks.
While only 155 cases are confirmed in Palestine so far, including one death and 18 recovered with 12 cases in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority fears this number may also increase if the returning workers are not isolated and properly checked.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has urged the World Health Organization to pressure Israel to check all the workers before it sends them home so that they will not thwart his government’s efforts to contain the disease and prevent its spread, as it has successfully done so far.
1 apr 2020

Fifteen new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the West Bank today, bringing total in West Bank to 122 and in Palestine in general to 134, according to government spokesman Mohammad Milhem.
He said at the daily briefing on the deadly coronavirus pandemic that the 15 cases were of Palestinians who worked at a poultry factory in the Israeli Atarot industrial area in occupied East Jerusalem and live in several West Bank villages.
He said Israel informed the Palestinian Authority of the possibility of the workers being infected and therefore nine of the infected workers who were in one bus were taken straight from the factory to quarantine centers in Ramallah, while the rest have crossed the Israeli military checkpoints on their own, went to their villages and mingled with people before they were detected, which could raise the number of infected after tests are conducted on all those who interacted with the workers.
Two cases were earlier confirmed in the Gaza Strip of women in their 60s, bringing the total in the besieged enclave to 12.
A total of 18 corona cases have recovered and one death in the West Bank.
He said at the daily briefing on the deadly coronavirus pandemic that the 15 cases were of Palestinians who worked at a poultry factory in the Israeli Atarot industrial area in occupied East Jerusalem and live in several West Bank villages.
He said Israel informed the Palestinian Authority of the possibility of the workers being infected and therefore nine of the infected workers who were in one bus were taken straight from the factory to quarantine centers in Ramallah, while the rest have crossed the Israeli military checkpoints on their own, went to their villages and mingled with people before they were detected, which could raise the number of infected after tests are conducted on all those who interacted with the workers.
Two cases were earlier confirmed in the Gaza Strip of women in their 60s, bringing the total in the besieged enclave to 12.
A total of 18 corona cases have recovered and one death in the West Bank.

Two new cases of coronavirus were confirmed last night in the Gaza Strip, bringing total there to 12 and 119 total in Palestine, according to government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem.
He said in a statement that the two new cases in Gaza were of women from Rafah who have already been in a quarantine.
Milhem also said tests on 200 samples taken from those who returned home yesterday after being kept in a 2-week quarantine in Jordan have all turned out negative and all were sent to home quarantine for another two weeks. video
Of the 119 total cases in Palestine, 18 have recovered and one death.
He said in a statement that the two new cases in Gaza were of women from Rafah who have already been in a quarantine.
Milhem also said tests on 200 samples taken from those who returned home yesterday after being kept in a 2-week quarantine in Jordan have all turned out negative and all were sent to home quarantine for another two weeks. video
Of the 119 total cases in Palestine, 18 have recovered and one death.
31 mar 2020

In the midst of global preoccupation with combating the outbreak of the Coronavirus COVID19, the Israeli forces continue to storm Palestinian cities, assaulting the civilian population, without taking any preventive measures, and completely ignoring the dangers this behavior might cause in light of the spread of the infection in Israel, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said in a press statement.
It said it followed with a great concern reports of suspicious behaviors of Israeli soldiers and settlers, during the storming of Palestinian houses, as some of them spat at parked cars, ATMs and shop locks, which raises fears of deliberate attempts to spread the virus and cause panic in the Palestinian society.
Since the Palestinian government has declared a state of emergency in the Palestinian Territories on March 6, as a preventive measure to control the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, Euro-Med has documented 207 Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
These incursions included the arrest of 191 Palestinians, attacks on dozens of others, and demolishing Palestinian houses. The majority of these operations took place without any preventive measures and without soldiers wearing appropriate masks to prevent the spread of the virus.
During the same period, Israeli settlers carried out 19 infiltrations into Palestinian neighborhoods in the West Bank, along with carrying out attacks on the Palestinian population and their property.
The Euro-Med Monitor said it considers that Israeli practices hinder Palestinian preventive measures to counter the spread of the virus, and a threat of the quarantine measures and social distancing adopted by the Palestinian Authority, in line with instructions issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Anas Aljerjawi, the Euro-Med regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that the suspicious practices of the Israeli forces during the storming of Palestinian cities would reinforce assumptions of hostility of the Israeli army and settlers against the Palestinian population.
Aljerjawi stressed the need to stop illegal Israeli violations in the Palestinian Territories, especially at a time the world suffers from the novel Corona pandemic, pointing to the dangerous role of the Israeli incursions in raising the possibility of spreading the infection among the Palestinian population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The danger of these incursions lies in light of the spread of the Coronavirus in Israel, and the death of 18 Israelis, as 4,800 others tested positive, which means that every incursion of the Israeli forces or settlers represents a potential danger of spreading the virus in the Palestinian areas.
The Euro-Med Monitor indicated that Palestinian detainees face the risk of being infected with the virus as a result of direct contact with Israeli soldiers, or during interrogation, as four detainees were suspected of being infected and were isolated in an Israeli prison.
The Euro-Med Monitor stated that while all countries are trying to ensure security and increase health measures and supplies to prevent the outbreak of the pandemic, the Israeli forces confiscated on March 26 eight tents in the northern Jordan Valley, two of which were set up as health clinics, and four others were built as shelters for citizens in the event of an emergency.
Since 23 March, the Israeli authorities began deporting thousands of Palestinian workers working in Israel to the West Bank cities through checkpoints, after some of them showed fatigue and high temperatures.
Most of the deportations took place without medical examinations or special arrangements with the Palestinian authorities, to ensure that workers are treated and examined upon return to ensure their well-being, which amounts to racial discrimination.
These practices pose a public health threat and makes it easier to spread COVID19 among Palestinians, said Euro-Med.
It is worth noting that the only death because of Coronavirus in the Palestinian Territories was a woman who had been infected by her son, who works in Israel. A large number of the 117 Palestinians infected with Coronavirus got the disease from relatives who work in Israel or Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Euro-Med Monitor said it holds Israel, as an occupying Power, fully responsible for these dangerous practices, and demanded an immediate cessation of these practices.
The Geneva-based organization urged the international community to act and shoulder its responsibilities to protect Palestinians and force Israeli forces to stop incursions that threaten preventive measures taken by the Palestinian Authority to control the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
The Euro-Med Monitor called for investigating the suspicious behavior of a number of soldiers and settlers, which appeared to be an attempt to spread the infection and hold those responsible to account.
It said it followed with a great concern reports of suspicious behaviors of Israeli soldiers and settlers, during the storming of Palestinian houses, as some of them spat at parked cars, ATMs and shop locks, which raises fears of deliberate attempts to spread the virus and cause panic in the Palestinian society.
Since the Palestinian government has declared a state of emergency in the Palestinian Territories on March 6, as a preventive measure to control the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, Euro-Med has documented 207 Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
These incursions included the arrest of 191 Palestinians, attacks on dozens of others, and demolishing Palestinian houses. The majority of these operations took place without any preventive measures and without soldiers wearing appropriate masks to prevent the spread of the virus.
During the same period, Israeli settlers carried out 19 infiltrations into Palestinian neighborhoods in the West Bank, along with carrying out attacks on the Palestinian population and their property.
The Euro-Med Monitor said it considers that Israeli practices hinder Palestinian preventive measures to counter the spread of the virus, and a threat of the quarantine measures and social distancing adopted by the Palestinian Authority, in line with instructions issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Anas Aljerjawi, the Euro-Med regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that the suspicious practices of the Israeli forces during the storming of Palestinian cities would reinforce assumptions of hostility of the Israeli army and settlers against the Palestinian population.
Aljerjawi stressed the need to stop illegal Israeli violations in the Palestinian Territories, especially at a time the world suffers from the novel Corona pandemic, pointing to the dangerous role of the Israeli incursions in raising the possibility of spreading the infection among the Palestinian population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The danger of these incursions lies in light of the spread of the Coronavirus in Israel, and the death of 18 Israelis, as 4,800 others tested positive, which means that every incursion of the Israeli forces or settlers represents a potential danger of spreading the virus in the Palestinian areas.
The Euro-Med Monitor indicated that Palestinian detainees face the risk of being infected with the virus as a result of direct contact with Israeli soldiers, or during interrogation, as four detainees were suspected of being infected and were isolated in an Israeli prison.
The Euro-Med Monitor stated that while all countries are trying to ensure security and increase health measures and supplies to prevent the outbreak of the pandemic, the Israeli forces confiscated on March 26 eight tents in the northern Jordan Valley, two of which were set up as health clinics, and four others were built as shelters for citizens in the event of an emergency.
Since 23 March, the Israeli authorities began deporting thousands of Palestinian workers working in Israel to the West Bank cities through checkpoints, after some of them showed fatigue and high temperatures.
Most of the deportations took place without medical examinations or special arrangements with the Palestinian authorities, to ensure that workers are treated and examined upon return to ensure their well-being, which amounts to racial discrimination.
These practices pose a public health threat and makes it easier to spread COVID19 among Palestinians, said Euro-Med.
It is worth noting that the only death because of Coronavirus in the Palestinian Territories was a woman who had been infected by her son, who works in Israel. A large number of the 117 Palestinians infected with Coronavirus got the disease from relatives who work in Israel or Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Euro-Med Monitor said it holds Israel, as an occupying Power, fully responsible for these dangerous practices, and demanded an immediate cessation of these practices.
The Geneva-based organization urged the international community to act and shoulder its responsibilities to protect Palestinians and force Israeli forces to stop incursions that threaten preventive measures taken by the Palestinian Authority to control the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
The Euro-Med Monitor called for investigating the suspicious behavior of a number of soldiers and settlers, which appeared to be an attempt to spread the infection and hold those responsible to account.

Two new cases of coronavirus were confirmed overnight in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, bringing total to 117, said the Palestinian government’s spokesman Ibrahim Milhem.
One case was reported in Ramallah for a man in his 20s who apparently got infected while working in Israel and was taken to the quarantine center in the city.
The second is for a man in his 50s who returned to the Gaza Strip last week through Rafah crossing with Egypt and was placed in confinement since then.
He is the 10th case in the Gaza Strip while the rest are in the West Bank. A total of 18 have recovered and one death.
One case was reported in Ramallah for a man in his 20s who apparently got infected while working in Israel and was taken to the quarantine center in the city.
The second is for a man in his 50s who returned to the Gaza Strip last week through Rafah crossing with Egypt and was placed in confinement since then.
He is the 10th case in the Gaza Strip while the rest are in the West Bank. A total of 18 have recovered and one death.
30 mar 2020

Six new cases of coronavirus were confirmed this morning in the West Bank, bringing the total in the West Bank to 106 and 115 overall in Palestine with the nine in the Gaza Strip, according to Ministry of Interior spokesman Ghassan Nimr.
He said in the daily briefing on the coronavirus in Palestine that the six were of people from the village of Qatanna, east of Jerusalem, where along with nearby Biddo village, has reported 39 positive corona cases, said the spokesman.
Nimr said 629 cases were tested in the last hours and all came out negative, except the confirmed six this morning and another one declared earlier in the same village.
He said 85 of the confirmed cases were between the age of 20 and 59 years, eight between 60 and 69 and three over 70, the rest are under 20 years of age, including four children under nine years.
Of the confirmed cases, 20 have recovered so far and one death.
He said in the daily briefing on the coronavirus in Palestine that the six were of people from the village of Qatanna, east of Jerusalem, where along with nearby Biddo village, has reported 39 positive corona cases, said the spokesman.
Nimr said 629 cases were tested in the last hours and all came out negative, except the confirmed six this morning and another one declared earlier in the same village.
He said 85 of the confirmed cases were between the age of 20 and 59 years, eight between 60 and 69 and three over 70, the rest are under 20 years of age, including four children under nine years.
Of the confirmed cases, 20 have recovered so far and one death.

The number of coronavirus cases in the West Bank hit the 100 mark with the confirmation early this morning of a new case in a village east of Jerusalem.
Government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said in a statement that a man in his 30s from the village of Qatanna has tested positive for the deadly virus.
The man is from a family whose several of its members were infected with coronavirus.
With nine cases in the Gaza Strip, total cases in Palestine has reached 109, including 20 who recovered and one death.
Government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said in a statement that a man in his 30s from the village of Qatanna has tested positive for the deadly virus.
The man is from a family whose several of its members were infected with coronavirus.
With nine cases in the Gaza Strip, total cases in Palestine has reached 109, including 20 who recovered and one death.