The Palestinian Authority on Saturday announced fresh restrictions on the coronavirus, including a partial blockade, for the occupied West Bank as COVID-19 cases increase.
The whole picture: The new measures come as Israel, which leads the world in vaccination, faces increasing pressure to ensure that occupied Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have equal access to vaccines.
- The Israeli prime minister’s office announced this week that the country would send a “symbolic amount” of vaccines to the Palestinian Authority and several countries that have requested assistance, Axios’ Barak Ravid reported.
- While the Palestinian Authority has begun a limited inoculation campaign with several vaccine shipments on the road, according to The New York Times, it is unclear when most of the more than 5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will have access to vaccines.
Details: The West Bank restrictions, which are set to begin on Sunday, will last at least 12 days, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
- Most schools will have to close, and universities will be required to switch to virtual training.
- Restrictions include banning most travel between the provinces and to and from Jerusalem, extinguishing the night, and banning most traffic on Friday and Saturday.
- Weddings, parties and funerals will also be prohibited.
By numbers: The West Bank and Gaza have recorded more than 181,900 COVID-19 cases and 2,025 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Saturday that the West Bank had reported 910 new cases and five deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the Times.
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