The Palestinian Authority’s Fight against COVID-19 (Updated to April 6, 2020)

Overview

• The following are the main developments in the fight the Palestinian Authority (PA) is waging against the spread of COVID-19:
  • On April 6, 2020, 20 more COVID-19 cases were diagnosed, bringing the total of [known] cases in the PA territories to 225. Most of the cases (about 90%) are in the Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem districts. The disease is spreading rapidly.

• A spokesman for the Palestinian government said that 50,000 Palestinian workers staying in Israel are expected to return to the PA territories shortly before Passover (which begins on the evening of Wednesday, April 8).. The PA demands that Israel examine the workers for COVID-19 before they return, and in any case place them in quarantine for two weeks.
• The PA campaign blaming Israel for not taking preventive measures to keep the virus from spreading in the prisons continues. The Israel Prison Service has stated that [so far] no prisoners in its facilities are either ill or carrying the COVID-19 virus. The Service has also stated that measures to prevent contagion are being taken in accordance with regulations from the Israeli ministry of health.
• PA spokesmen continue falsely accusing Israel of deliberately spreading the virus to the PA territories and causing the failure of the PA’s fight against the virus. They also falsely claim that Israel deliberately infected Palestinian prisoners with the virus.

The Incidence of COVID-19 in Judea and Samaria

On April 6, 2020, 20 more COVID-19 cases were diagnosed, bringing to total number of [known] cases to 225 (PA Corona Map portal of the ministry of local government in the PA,^[1] April 6, 2020). A graph indicates a continuing high rate of contagion. Most of the cases are defined as stable, with the exception of two in ICU units (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, April 4, 2020).

• The COVID-19 hotspots in the PA continue to be the Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem districts (which account for about 90% of the cases). The official distribution is as follows: 91 in the Jerusalem district; 57 in the Ramallah district; 52 in the Bethlehem district; 13 in the Hebron district; five in the Nablus district; five in the Tulkarm district; one in the Jenin district and one in the Salfit district (PA Corona Map portal, April 6, 2020).

• Kamal al-Shakhra, who holds the COVID-19 portfolio in the Palestinian ministry of health, reported they have 205 ventilators. Ten more will be installed in the coming days. An additional 250 ventilators will arrive from abroad in the near future, he said (Wafa, April 2, 2020).

Measures Taken by the PA to Prevent the Spread of the Disease

• On April 3, 2020, Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech from his office in Ramallah, after having kept a low media profile during the first month of the COVID-19 outbreak. He announced a presidential edict extending the state of emergency in the PA territories for an additional 30 days. He called on the Palestinian public to show solidarity and stay at home. He called on Palestinian workers to obey instructions and remain in isolation after their return from Israel. He called on Israel to release the Palestinian prisoners and said Israel was fully responsible for their welfare (Mahmoud Abbas’ Facebook page, April 3, 2020).
• After Mahmoud Abbas had issued the edict, the PA prime minister held a press conference in Ramallah where he announced the following measures: the educational institutions will remain closed; the crossings [with Israel] will be closed; passage between districts is banned and quarantine centers will be established in every district. Muhammad Shtayyeh reported the establishment of a fund for donations from the private sector, and praised the Palestinian medical teams and security forces (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, April 4, 2020).
• Additional measures taken by PA institutions as part of the fight against the coronavirus:
• The Palestinians security forces continue disinfecting public facilities and institutions. They disinfected media offices, including the offices of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency (Wafa, April 2, 2020).
• On April 2, 2020, PA employees began receiving their March 2020 salaries. The Palestinian security forces supervised the withdrawal of funds from ATMs, ensuring the proper procedures were followed (Palinfo Twitter account, April 2, 2020).

    
The PA security forces supervise the withdrawal of funds from ATMs in the PA territories (Palinfo Twitter account, April 2, 2020).

• Layla Ghanem, the governor of the Ramallah district, decided to limit the movement of Palestinians in the district to the hours between 10:00 and 17:00 (Ma’an, April 1, 2020). In addition, she ordered the lockdown of Deir Jarar after other cases of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the village (Ma’an, April 4, 2020).

The Palestinians Workers in Israel

Palestinian workers expected to return to the PA

• Ibrahim Melhem, spokesman for the PA government, said he expects about 50,000 Palestinian workers current staying in Israel to return to the PA territories shortly before Passover (which begins on the evening of Wednesday, April 8). He said Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh had appealed to the WHO with the demand that Israel examine them for COVID-19 before their return (Ibrahim Melhem’s Twitter account, April 1, 2020). Dr. Ghassan Nimr, spokesman for the Palestinian ministry of health, said they do not trust Israel, and therefore every Palestinian worker will be forced to remain isolated in his home for two weeks (Dr. Ghassan Nimr’s Facebook page, April 1, 2020).In preparation for the expected return of the Palestinian workers from Israel, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh met with the heads of the Palestinian security forces. He said they had asked Israel to examine the Palestinian workers before their return. He also instructed them to increase the forces’ preventive measures, demanding that all the roadblocks between the Palestinian towns and villages be under the full control of the security forces to prevent friction (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, April 2, 2020).

Detention of Palestinian workers who tried to infiltrate into Israel

• On April 1, 2020, the Palestinian security forces detained dozens of Palestinian workers in the rural areas south of Hebron. It was reported that the workers violated the order of the Palestinian prime minister and tried to enter Israel for purposes of work. Some of them were also supposed to be in isolation after having returned from Israel (Ma’an, April 1, 2020). In addition, they detained Palestinian drivers and the vehicles which had carried the workers (Wafa, April 1, 2020).

The Palestinian Terrorists Imprisoned in Israel

• The PA and Hamas continue alleging that Israel does not take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among prisoners in Israeli jails. The Palestinian foreign minister sent a communiqué to the chairman of the International Red Cross concerning the matter (Ma’an, April 1, 2020). The PA authority for prisoners and released prisoners also [falsely] alleged that Israel is deliberately infecting Palestinian prisoners (Ma’an, April 1, 2020).
• On April 2, 2020, the Israel Prison Service announced it continues to act in accordance with instructions from the Israeli ministry of health to prevent the spread of the virus and gives highest priority to the health and welfare of the prisoners and prison staff. The shifts of the security guards in all the prisons have been extended to seven days to limit comings and goings. New regulations have been put in place requiring prison guards to wear face masks and rubber gloves in the cell wings and in the public areas. The Israeli Prison Service stressed that there no sick patients or prisoners carrying the virus in any prison. In addition, there are daily situation assessments given with the participation of the senior command to examine the situation in the prisons. All the activities are conducted in cooperation with the Israeli ministry of health and other security agencies (Israel Prison Service website, April 2, 2020).

Falsely Blaming Israel for the Spread of COVID-19 Continues

• The smear campaign waged against Israel by PA speakers continues:
  • Dr. Ghassan Nimr, spokesman for the PA ministry of the interior, accused IDF soldiers of deliberated spreading COVID-19 in the PA because the number of cases in Israel is much higher than the number in the PA territories. He claimed it was “inhuman behavior” and that the Palestinians were considering complaining to the WHO (al-Arabiya al-Hadath, April 1, 2020).
  • PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh claimed that the real Achilles heel in the Palestinians’ fight against the spread of COVID-19 are the “occupation,” the settlements, the roadblocks and all measures taken by Israel to cause the failure of the measures taken by the PA against the spread of the disease. He claims Israel “allows” the entrance of Palestinian workers [apparently referring to the infiltration of Palestinian workers who stay in Israel illegally]. Those measures, he claimed, harm all the steps taken by the PA to prevent an eruption of the disease (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, April 4, 2020).

^[1] On April 2, 2020, the PA ministry of local government launched a portal called Corona Map where there is data about the incidence of contagion according to districts and cities. The portal also provides announcements and instructions from the various Palestinian governmental ministries. ↑

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