8 apr 2020
A mannequin wears a face mask with the pattern of the Palestinian keffiyeh
As Netanyahu continues racist incitement against Arab citizens, Israeli security forces are unleashing violence on Palestinian communities
In a recent meeting about Covid-19 with a delegation of doctors who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Unfortunately, instructions are not strictly adhered to in the Arab sector … I ask for the cooperation of all Arab citizens of Israel. I ask you, for your sake and for the sake of our shared future, please follow the orders, [otherwise] a lot of people will die, and these deaths could be prevented with your help.”
Clearly, controlling the proliferation of coronavirus depends on the commitment of people to self-isolate, but this is not what Netanyahu meant. Rather, he was continuing his racist incitement against Palestinian citizens, suggesting that deaths would be “your” responsibility.
Portrayed as a threat
Palestinian citizens are the perfect scapegoat to blame for the spread of Covid-19 in Israel. Palestinian citizens of Israel are being portrayed as a threat to the health and lives of Jewish citizens - a continuation of the longstanding discourse that portrays them as a fifth column and illegitimate citizens.
In a discourse that mirrors the classic European antisemitic playbook of “Jews spreading disease”, Netanyahu is preparing the ground to blame Palestinians for the spread of coronavirus if mitigation efforts fail. He is doing what he knows best: inciting against Palestinian citizens to avoid scrutiny over his own handling of the crisis, and to deflect from his pending criminal charges.
If there is one sector in which ’48 Palestinians have relatively high representation, it is the health sector (although they still face discrimination and racism within this system too). Seventeen percent of Israel’s doctors are Palestinian citizens. There are also many Palestinian nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and sanitation workers on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus.
While they put their lives on the line to protect all lives, without discrimination, their own communities and families face neglect by the Israeli state.
Showing how Jewish lives are favoured over Palestinian ones, even though Palestinians comprise a fifth of the population, only five percent of all Covid-19 tests have been given to Palestinians. As of this Sunday, just 6,479 tests have been carried out among ’48 Palestinians, a figure roughly equivalent to the average daily testing rate for Jews.
Preventative measures
To date, about 193 Palestinian citizens of Israel have tested positive, less than two percent of those infected. These low figures, however, are far from promising. According to the estimation of public health expert Nihaya Daoud, there are probably thousands of patients and carriers in Palestinian communities. Without proper testing, the numbers are likely to sharply increase.
While the state has been promoting preventative measures among the Jewish public, it has not made similar efforts targeting its Palestinian population.
Informational materials were not translated into Arabic for weeks, and no investment has been made to strengthen health infrastructure in Palestinian towns and villages.
Palestinian citizens, like other indigenous and racialised communities, are structurally disadvantaged when it comes to health and access to health services. When combined with a deadly pandemic, the results could be devastating.
The average distance of Palestinian localities from nearby hospitals is almost twice that of Jewish towns in the same areas, and the quality of medical services in Palestinian localities is poor. Palestinian citizens also suffer high rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart conditions, putting many in high-risk groups.
For Palestinian Bedouins in the Naqab, the threat of coronavirus is even greater. About 150,000 Bedouins live in approximately 40 villages that are deemed illegal by the state. As such, these villages are denied access to water, sanitation and health services.
Despite repeated pleas by Bedouin civil society groups, the state has refused to take appropriate measures, such as testing, building self-isolation facilities, or providing access to medical clinics and hospitals. Instead, the state has been busy continuing mass demolitions of Bedouin homes.
Flawed logic
There has been growing criticism of Israel’s negligence of its Palestinian citizens, yet another testament to Israel’s discriminatory policies.
Israel’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic reveals its deliberate disregard of Palestinian lives, based on a racial hierarchy between Jews and Palestinians. Only Jewish lives matter, while Palestinians are disposable.
In times of pandemic, this logic is, of course, flawed. If the pandemic hits ’48 Palestinians, it will inevitably threaten Jewish citizens as well. A logical conclusion would be to dedicate sufficient attention, budget and medical personnel and equipment to Palestinian areas, as our lives literally depend on each other - but apparently, the drive to see Palestinians vanish is stronger than any rational calculation.
Furthermore, a proliferation of coronavirus among Palestinian citizens could provide an opportunity for Israel to tighten its control and further isolate them, both politically and physically.
We have seen this dynamic evolve in Jaffa in recent days, where Israeli police have harassed and violently attacked Palestinian residents for allegedly violating lockdown directives. When Palestinians protested, Israeli police responded with excessive violence, including stun grenades.
This might only be the beginning. If the pandemic hits Palestinian towns and villages, we may see the public health protection discourse used as justification for further militarisation against Palestinian citizens.
By associating coronavirus with Palestinian citizens, as Netanyahu has started to do, measures such as curfews, closures, village sweeps and permit regimes are likely to be imposed. Such emergency measures could become the new normal, making Israel’s most policed and marginalised population even more policed, punished and controlled.
Lana Tatour is the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University.
As Netanyahu continues racist incitement against Arab citizens, Israeli security forces are unleashing violence on Palestinian communities
In a recent meeting about Covid-19 with a delegation of doctors who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Unfortunately, instructions are not strictly adhered to in the Arab sector … I ask for the cooperation of all Arab citizens of Israel. I ask you, for your sake and for the sake of our shared future, please follow the orders, [otherwise] a lot of people will die, and these deaths could be prevented with your help.”
Clearly, controlling the proliferation of coronavirus depends on the commitment of people to self-isolate, but this is not what Netanyahu meant. Rather, he was continuing his racist incitement against Palestinian citizens, suggesting that deaths would be “your” responsibility.
Portrayed as a threat
Palestinian citizens are the perfect scapegoat to blame for the spread of Covid-19 in Israel. Palestinian citizens of Israel are being portrayed as a threat to the health and lives of Jewish citizens - a continuation of the longstanding discourse that portrays them as a fifth column and illegitimate citizens.
In a discourse that mirrors the classic European antisemitic playbook of “Jews spreading disease”, Netanyahu is preparing the ground to blame Palestinians for the spread of coronavirus if mitigation efforts fail. He is doing what he knows best: inciting against Palestinian citizens to avoid scrutiny over his own handling of the crisis, and to deflect from his pending criminal charges.
If there is one sector in which ’48 Palestinians have relatively high representation, it is the health sector (although they still face discrimination and racism within this system too). Seventeen percent of Israel’s doctors are Palestinian citizens. There are also many Palestinian nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and sanitation workers on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus.
While they put their lives on the line to protect all lives, without discrimination, their own communities and families face neglect by the Israeli state.
Showing how Jewish lives are favoured over Palestinian ones, even though Palestinians comprise a fifth of the population, only five percent of all Covid-19 tests have been given to Palestinians. As of this Sunday, just 6,479 tests have been carried out among ’48 Palestinians, a figure roughly equivalent to the average daily testing rate for Jews.
Preventative measures
To date, about 193 Palestinian citizens of Israel have tested positive, less than two percent of those infected. These low figures, however, are far from promising. According to the estimation of public health expert Nihaya Daoud, there are probably thousands of patients and carriers in Palestinian communities. Without proper testing, the numbers are likely to sharply increase.
While the state has been promoting preventative measures among the Jewish public, it has not made similar efforts targeting its Palestinian population.
Informational materials were not translated into Arabic for weeks, and no investment has been made to strengthen health infrastructure in Palestinian towns and villages.
Palestinian citizens, like other indigenous and racialised communities, are structurally disadvantaged when it comes to health and access to health services. When combined with a deadly pandemic, the results could be devastating.
The average distance of Palestinian localities from nearby hospitals is almost twice that of Jewish towns in the same areas, and the quality of medical services in Palestinian localities is poor. Palestinian citizens also suffer high rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart conditions, putting many in high-risk groups.
For Palestinian Bedouins in the Naqab, the threat of coronavirus is even greater. About 150,000 Bedouins live in approximately 40 villages that are deemed illegal by the state. As such, these villages are denied access to water, sanitation and health services.
Despite repeated pleas by Bedouin civil society groups, the state has refused to take appropriate measures, such as testing, building self-isolation facilities, or providing access to medical clinics and hospitals. Instead, the state has been busy continuing mass demolitions of Bedouin homes.
Flawed logic
There has been growing criticism of Israel’s negligence of its Palestinian citizens, yet another testament to Israel’s discriminatory policies.
Israel’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic reveals its deliberate disregard of Palestinian lives, based on a racial hierarchy between Jews and Palestinians. Only Jewish lives matter, while Palestinians are disposable.
In times of pandemic, this logic is, of course, flawed. If the pandemic hits ’48 Palestinians, it will inevitably threaten Jewish citizens as well. A logical conclusion would be to dedicate sufficient attention, budget and medical personnel and equipment to Palestinian areas, as our lives literally depend on each other - but apparently, the drive to see Palestinians vanish is stronger than any rational calculation.
Furthermore, a proliferation of coronavirus among Palestinian citizens could provide an opportunity for Israel to tighten its control and further isolate them, both politically and physically.
We have seen this dynamic evolve in Jaffa in recent days, where Israeli police have harassed and violently attacked Palestinian residents for allegedly violating lockdown directives. When Palestinians protested, Israeli police responded with excessive violence, including stun grenades.
This might only be the beginning. If the pandemic hits Palestinian towns and villages, we may see the public health protection discourse used as justification for further militarisation against Palestinian citizens.
By associating coronavirus with Palestinian citizens, as Netanyahu has started to do, measures such as curfews, closures, village sweeps and permit regimes are likely to be imposed. Such emergency measures could become the new normal, making Israel’s most policed and marginalised population even more policed, punished and controlled.
Lana Tatour is the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University.
7 apr 2020
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The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced yesterday the discovery of a Bronze Age cemetery in Hindaza area, east of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
It said in a press statement that while a local resident was digging the ground to build the foundation for his home, this cemetery was exposed. The resident contacted the Bethlehem Department of Antiquities, which immediately went to the site where its crews started excavations work that showed that the cemetery dates back to the Bronze Age and contains a set of clay and metal items. The ministry said its crews began extensive exploration and documentation work in order to accurately identify and properly examine all the archaeological material at the site. video It stressed the importance of this discovery, which it said would enrich the |
scientific knowledge of this region with new and useful information not previously known, as well as the scientific research of an important historical era represented by the discovered cemetery, which has information about burial customs in the Bethlehem area during the Bronze Age.
30 mar 2020
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission have accused the Israeli occupation army of attempting to spread coronavirus in the Palestinian Authority areas of the West Bank after allowing dozens of Palestinian workers to return from Israeli areas without informing the Palestinian side or taking anti-coronavirus measures.
The Commission, an affiliate of the Palestinian Authority, said that the Israeli occupation army facilitated the return of Palestinian workers, who were infected with the virus in Israel, to their villages and towns in the West Bank without going through emergency, medical examination and quarantine committees.
The Israeli occupation forces at dawn Sunday unlocked some gates and barriers at separation walls and fences in Qalqilya and Tulkarem and allowed dozens of Palestinians who work in Israeli areas to return to their homes.
Such Israeli step has created confusion among the Palestinian security and medical crews, who are keen to receive workers coming from Israeli areas to ensure they are not infected with coronavirus.
The Commission, an affiliate of the Palestinian Authority, said that the Israeli occupation army facilitated the return of Palestinian workers, who were infected with the virus in Israel, to their villages and towns in the West Bank without going through emergency, medical examination and quarantine committees.
The Israeli occupation forces at dawn Sunday unlocked some gates and barriers at separation walls and fences in Qalqilya and Tulkarem and allowed dozens of Palestinians who work in Israeli areas to return to their homes.
Such Israeli step has created confusion among the Palestinian security and medical crews, who are keen to receive workers coming from Israeli areas to ensure they are not infected with coronavirus.
29 mar 2020
Firebrand politician claims was 'exposed to testimonies of Israeli soldiers trying to spread virus on car handles', cites racism and hatred as main motive behind actions
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Sunday accused IDF soldiers of deliberately spreading the novel coronavirus among the West Bank's Palestinian population.
In the latest iteration of an ongoing and long-standing blood libel, Shtayyeh claimed, "We were exposed to testimonies that some of the (Israeli) soldiers are trying to spread the virus on car handles." video
The firebrand politician cited racism as the main motive behind the soldiers' actions.
"This is racism and hatred of people who long for the death of the other. We will record this in the list of crimes [against Israel], " Shtayyeh said.
During his address, the Palestinian diplomat called on Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, particularly the sick, women and children. He added that Israel should be responsible to pay up to 90,000 Palestinian workers to cover their enforced absence from work.
Shtayyeh, a long-standing advocate against Israel, has previously accused the Jewish State of "waging war on the Palestinian narrative" as well as attempting to "Judaize the history of the Holy Land."
The Palestinian Authority (PA) revealed that there are now more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To date, there has only been one fatality - a West Bank woman in her sixties who did not travel overseas lately, nor come into contact with other confirmed coronavirus patients.
After the Gaza Strip confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus last week, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI) Ran Goldstein told i24NEWS last Monday that the coastal enclave is underequipped and lacks medical personnel to tackle a large-scale outbreak of COVID-19.
“From a human rights perspective, I think it’s important to talk about the responsibility of Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the world,” Goldstein said. "The situation in Gaza must have a better solution than just a military solution. Now when we see that there are health needs, hopefully, the world will come and help Gaza, as well as Israel because there is a shared interest."
There is a shortage of ventilators in Gaza, and there are only 17 intensive care beds available."
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Sunday accused IDF soldiers of deliberately spreading the novel coronavirus among the West Bank's Palestinian population.
In the latest iteration of an ongoing and long-standing blood libel, Shtayyeh claimed, "We were exposed to testimonies that some of the (Israeli) soldiers are trying to spread the virus on car handles." video
The firebrand politician cited racism as the main motive behind the soldiers' actions.
"This is racism and hatred of people who long for the death of the other. We will record this in the list of crimes [against Israel], " Shtayyeh said.
During his address, the Palestinian diplomat called on Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, particularly the sick, women and children. He added that Israel should be responsible to pay up to 90,000 Palestinian workers to cover their enforced absence from work.
Shtayyeh, a long-standing advocate against Israel, has previously accused the Jewish State of "waging war on the Palestinian narrative" as well as attempting to "Judaize the history of the Holy Land."
The Palestinian Authority (PA) revealed that there are now more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To date, there has only been one fatality - a West Bank woman in her sixties who did not travel overseas lately, nor come into contact with other confirmed coronavirus patients.
After the Gaza Strip confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus last week, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI) Ran Goldstein told i24NEWS last Monday that the coastal enclave is underequipped and lacks medical personnel to tackle a large-scale outbreak of COVID-19.
“From a human rights perspective, I think it’s important to talk about the responsibility of Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the world,” Goldstein said. "The situation in Gaza must have a better solution than just a military solution. Now when we see that there are health needs, hopefully, the world will come and help Gaza, as well as Israel because there is a shared interest."
There is a shortage of ventilators in Gaza, and there are only 17 intensive care beds available."
Hasan Dabbas, 55
Mayor of the village an-Nassariya, to the east of Nablus in the West Bank, Hasan Dabbas, 55, was shot dead last night by unknown assailants in the village, according to the police.
Lu'ay Rzekat, spokesman for the police, said that the Dabbas was killed seriously injured by unknown assailants in the village, and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Tubas town for treatment, before he was pronounced dead of his wounds.
Rzekat said that following the deadly incident, police and security forces were deployed to the village to maintain public security, safety and order as well as to inspect the scene of the crime.
He added that several suspects were arrested in the village pending criminal proceedings.
Rzekat explained that the Public Prosecution and the police launched a probe into the incident.
Mayor of the village an-Nassariya, to the east of Nablus in the West Bank, Hasan Dabbas, 55, was shot dead last night by unknown assailants in the village, according to the police.
Lu'ay Rzekat, spokesman for the police, said that the Dabbas was killed seriously injured by unknown assailants in the village, and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Tubas town for treatment, before he was pronounced dead of his wounds.
Rzekat said that following the deadly incident, police and security forces were deployed to the village to maintain public security, safety and order as well as to inspect the scene of the crime.
He added that several suspects were arrested in the village pending criminal proceedings.
Rzekat explained that the Public Prosecution and the police launched a probe into the incident.
28 mar 2020
Palestinian officials close to President Mahmoud Abbas today denied media reports regarding the health of the president while dismissing these reports as malicious rumors.
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a tweet that President Abbas “is following up events related to the Coronavirus and other developments on the hour every hour.”
He stressed that President Abbas’ health is “excellent,” adding, “News about his admittance to hospital is null, void and fake.”
Member of Fatah Central Committee, Hussein al-Sheikh, also denied these reports and affirmed that President Abbas is closely following developments on the health situation in Palestine and plans to counter the spread of coronavirus disease.
He said the president “enjoys good health,” adding that there is “no validity for all the malicious rumors from the fifth column and yellow websites that aim to hit at our internal front at this critical stage. God protect our people and our homeland.”
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a tweet that President Abbas “is following up events related to the Coronavirus and other developments on the hour every hour.”
He stressed that President Abbas’ health is “excellent,” adding, “News about his admittance to hospital is null, void and fake.”
Member of Fatah Central Committee, Hussein al-Sheikh, also denied these reports and affirmed that President Abbas is closely following developments on the health situation in Palestine and plans to counter the spread of coronavirus disease.
He said the president “enjoys good health,” adding that there is “no validity for all the malicious rumors from the fifth column and yellow websites that aim to hit at our internal front at this critical stage. God protect our people and our homeland.”
