Category: News

President Mahmoud Abbas today declared a 30-day state of emergency in Palestine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state of emergency was first declared in March 2020 after the discovery of the first cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian territories and has been either extended or re-instated every 30 days since then.

The Palestinian basic law allows a one-time extension of the state of emergency, and if it has to be extended for a longer time, a new declaration should be issued.

The state of emergency gives the government the power to act in any way it deems necessary to combat the pandemic.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Eight Palestinians are missing after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Aegean Sea, off the Greek coast, and efforts are underway to know what happened to them, today said Ahmad al-Deek, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

He said that the ministry is in touch with the Greek authorities to obtain more information regarding the fate of the eight missing Palestinians.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Finland is making a contribution of €2 million to the Palestinian Authority to support the payment of medical referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals.

This contribution is channeled through the EU Program of Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority ‘PEGASE mechanism’.

This support will help the Palestinian Authority in meeting its obligations towards East Jerusalem hospitals against the backdrop of the PA’s ongoing dramatic fiscal crisis and the socio-economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, said a statement issued by the Office of the European Union Representative.

It will also help the East Jerusalem Hospitals to maintain critical medical services to Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

Together with European Union Member States, the EU has been supporting the Palestinian Authority since 2012 with regular contributions to the payment of referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals that have reached over €140 million since then.

These hospitals are an integral part of the Palestinian healthcare system providing specialized services that cannot be found elsewhere in the West Bank and in Gaza.

“The East Jerusalem hospitals are among the few Palestinian institutions still working in the city and provide essential quality health care services that are not available elsewhere in Palestine.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and its unprecedented implications for the well-being of the Palestinian population, they have played a crucial role as an integral part of the Palestinian health sector,’’ said European Union Representative Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff.

“The European Union and its Member States support these hospitals to ensure that they continue to serve Palestinian patients from all over the occupied Palestinian territory. By this, we also help preserve the Palestinian identity of East Jerusalem that is challenged each day by Israel’s ongoing occupation practices,’’ he added.

“Finland remains committed to supporting the high-quality health care for Palestinians from East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. Our direct financial support through PEGASE creates stability and alleviates life of Palestinian families in need of specialized health services”, said Ambassador Päivi Peltokoski, Representative of Finland.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Member of Fatah Central Committee and the Head of the General Authority of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh, said today in a tweet that there’s an Israeli approval of the second batch of the Palestinian family reunification file, which amounts to 10,000 approvals from all governorates.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Israeli settlers today evening attacked the village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya to the south of Nablus district, according to the head of the village council, Yaqoub ‘Owais.

He told WAFA that dozens of settlers, under Israeli military protection, stormed the village from the main checkpoint and attacked residents.

Israeli forces reportedly stood idly by and did nothing to stop the settlers, and instead joined in on the attack and fired tear gas canisters at residents. A youth was reportedly injured after being struck in the shoulder with a tear gas canister.

Extremist Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities. They often synchronize their raids and assaults with soldiers, who provide them with cover and protection.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Israeli settlers today evening opened fire, shooting indiscriminately, at Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, according to WAFA correspondent.

Settlers reportedly opened indiscriminate fire at Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah, despite the presence of Israeli forces at the western entrance of the neighborhood. Israeli police reportedly detained a 13-year-old boy from the neighborhood.

The Israeli occupation authorities, in collaboration with its courts, are actively acting to displace several Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood falsely claiming that the property the homes were built on in the 1950s belongs to Jews and therefore want to evict the families and turn over the homes to Jewish settlers.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Seven people have died of coronavirus in Palestine in the last 24 hours as the Ministry of Health confirmed today 296 new cases.

The Ministry said three deaths were confirmed in the Gaza Strip, where 103 new cases and 80 recoveries were recorded, four deaths in the West Bank, where 193 new cases and 206 recoveries were confirmed.

It said 115 corona patients are currently getting treatment in hospitals and 52 are critical in intensive care, while 14 are attached to ventilators.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Thirteen people have been confirmed to have been infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Palestine, today said the Ministry of Health.

Kamal Shakhra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, said the number of people infected with omicron has increased to 48, including one case in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Six Palestinian youths Tuesday dawn sustained gunshot injuries in an Israeli raid into the occupied West Bank city of Tubas, local sources confirmed.

The sources told WAFA that the Israeli forces barged their way into the city in early morning hours, opening intense live ammunition as well as concussion and tear gas canisters, triggering confrontations. hitting six youths by live rounds.

Medical sources said the Red Crescent crews dealt with a young man who was seriously injured by a live round in the chest in addition to five others who sustained live gunshot injuries in their limbs.

All the casualties were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency