“With a midnight deadline for Gantz to form a government looming, both sides are close to reaching an agreement on judicial issues, which have been a sticking point, the Kan public broadcaster reported. It said Likud would give up proposed changes to the way senior judges are selected, with a clause saying instead that appointments would be carried out with the approval of both parties. According to the report, Gantz will promise to go to fresh elections — the fourth in a row — instead of trying to form a government himself, in the event that the High Court rules that Netanyahu cannot form a new government due to the corruption indictment against him. The report said Netanyahu was also demanding legislation that would override any such court ruling.”

“Gantz and former IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi reportedly told Likud that they would “actively and energetically” pursue the legislation, following a breakdown in talks and a decision by President Reuven Rivlin not to extend Gantz’s mandate. Despite Gantz losing much of his leverage following the break up of his party, he is still Knesset speaker with control over the parliamentary agenda. The threat is that should Likud call off the talks, Gantz and his MKs would rejoin the anti-Netanyahu bloc in passing legislation to prevent an indicted person from serving as premier. Likud, meanwhile, was reportedly looking to prevent Gantz from carrying out the threat by siphoning off members of Blue and White and Labor who would consider joining Netanyahu’s bloc rather than going for a fourth successive election in which they might lose their Knesset seats.”

“The president ‘made this decision after also speaking to Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not confirm [he and Gantz] are close to signing an agreement that would lead to a unity government,’ a statement from Rivlin read.”

“Israel’s president on Sunday rejected a request to extend coalition talks between the country’s two most powerful political parties — appearing to give a boost to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and pushing the nation toward an unprecedented fourth consecutive election in just over a year. The decision by President Reuven Rivlin capped a stunning turnaround in fortunes of Netanyahu, who just a month ago was fighting for his political survival as he prepared to go on trial for corruption charges. His challenger, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, now faces an uphill struggle as he races to salvage a power-sharing deal with Netanyahu.”

“The appeal, which targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; who has three graft charges held against him, was rejected due to the fact President Reuven Rivlin is yet to pass the government task to Netanyahu. The High Court decided to not adjudicate on a similar appeal submitted in December 2019 and said discussions on the matter could only be held after Netanyahu received the mandate.”

“Israel’s Labor Party told President Reuven Rivlin Monday morning that it would not recommend that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receive the mandate to form a government as sole prime minister. It also said it would not “betray” Benny Gantz, after Rivlin refused to extend Gantz’s mandate as unity government negotiations fell apart. Labor’s statement came after people close to the prime minister reached out to Labor Chairman Amir Peretz and number two on the slate Itzik Shmuli. According to sources in Netanyahu’s inner circle, the contact was aimed at testing the possibility of Labor recommending that Netanyahu receive the mandate to form a government.”

“Gantz was set to give a statement to the press at 8:30 P.M. in which he was expected to give details regarding the talks and blame Netanyahu for their collapse. The status of the statement now remains unclear.”

“Dozens of people demonstrated outside the home of lawmaker Gabi Ashkenazi in Kfar Saba on Monday morning, protesting his Kahol Lavan party’s attempt to form a government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The police handed demonstrators large fines of up to 5,000 shekels ($1400) on grounds that they violated coronavirus health regulations. Five of the protestors were fined by the police for holding an illegal gathering under the emergency orders, despite such orders stating that demonstrations are permitted – as long as people remain two meters apart. The protesters said they would stand trial and not pay the fines. They also sent a letter to the police’s legal adviser threatening to appeal to the High Court and requested to cancel the tickets. There is selective enforcement as protesters are fined ‘for no fault of their own’ while leaders like Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin violate regulations and are granted immunity, they claimed. “

“Netanyahu’s overflowing basket of paranoias welcomed a new addition in the last few days. The indicted prime minister now fears the High Court of Justice will allow him to form a new government, and then pull a fast one on him, and rule him to be unfit to serve in the position immediately after the dual swearing-in of Netanyahu and Gantz as prime ministers. Gantz would then take over as prime minister for the remainder of their joint term.”

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held a round of phone conversations with Middle East leaders to urge them to oppose Israel’s possible annexation of parts of the West Bank, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erakat said on Saturday…In a tweet, Erakat said that Abbas spoke with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the monarch of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah; and the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss ‘the Israeli plan of annexation and the need to prevent it.'”

“Israeli forces arrested seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, including Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Mohammed Abu Tir, local media reported. He was detained from his home residence in Ramallah, the de facto administrative centre of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Abu Tir, 68, is a member of the Hamas movement who was elected to parliament in 2006. Just a month after his election that June, he was arrested by Israeli forces and sentenced to four years in prison.”

“The present crisis caused by COVID-19 has laid bare the inequality and violence at the heart of the current global economic system where profit accumulation comes at the expense of our collective rights. As people live in fear and uncertainty of the unfolding crisis’ impact, governments and corporate capital are seizing the opportunity to tighten their control and generate profit. In this dynamic report, Who Profits will monitor the developments on the ground, providing analysis and sources of the unfolding of the COVID-19 crisis in occupied Palestine. Monitoring developments in Palestine is crucial not because Palestine is an exceptional case, but precisely because it is not. As one political economist put it, Gaza (and Palestine more broadly) may be ‘the proverbial canary in the COVID-19 coal mine.’ There is no doubt that for Palestinians living under occupation, the acute shortage of testing kits, protective gear and ICU capacity is only the tip of the iceberg. A host of structural issues inevitably compound the virus’ devastating impact.”

“Sources in Gaza said that in a proposed first stage of the deal, Hamas would give Israel information on the two Israeli civilians and the bodies of two soldiers held in Gaza, via Egyptian and Russian mediators. This would be followed by a second stage of negotiations for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Israeli officials denied a delivery of ventilators was being negotiated. Hamas specifically suggested that Israel release a number of old and sick prisoners as part of the first stage of the deal, as well as women and minors held by Israel, officials in the Strip told Haaretz. Later on, Hamas hopes to secure the release of more of its prisoners.”

“According to reports, the gaps between Israel and Hamas are very wide, as said, and it is very doubtful that Israel’s best offer meets Hamas’ minimum demands. There is even a dispute regarding tactics: it has been reported that Hamas would like a deal in stages, the first of which is a humanitarian gesture: ventilators and the release of a limited number of young prisoners in exchange for information about the fate of the missing Israelis. Israel does not have a surplus of ventilators, and would have to purchase them from abroad. In addition, Israel knows that Goldin and Shaul were killed, and because of the circumstances under which Mengistu and Al-Sayed fell captive, they are not the focus of public discussion. Moreover, for Hamas, the very fact that it is not insisting already during the first stage on the re-release of those who were released in the Shalit prisoner exchange (and sent back to prison after the murder of the three teenagers in the West Bank in the summer of 2014) is a major concession. It wants to save them for the second stage of the deal, and then to get to the third stage, during which the heavy bargaining over the hard-core prisoners will be conducted. According to Arab sources, a deal of that type could include young people with no organizational affiliation, women, sick prisoners, and elderly prisoners who are terminally ill.”

“’The separation wall has disconnected us from Jerusalem and disconnected Jerusalem from us,’ says Kamel Ja’abri, who helps run a youth organization in the camp and volunteers with Kulna Jerusalem, a local NGO that connects Israeli Jews and Palestinians in the city. ‘Right now, under the shadow of the coronavirus, that disconnect is dangerous.’ The central problem, says Ja’abri, is that the authorities have neither built a testing station in the camp nor established an isolation zone for people who have been infected. This kind of infrastructure is critical due to the immense density of Shuafat, which makes effective social distancing difficult, particularly when considering the possibility that Israel may put the camp under lockdown — by shutting down the checkpoint at the entrance to Shuafat — in the case of an outbreak.”

“Wearing a face mask and an orange vest while brandishing a thermometer, Palestinian Moayad Samha looks similar to the countless others manning COVID-19 checkpoints across the world. But Samha does not work for the Palestinian Authority — he is a lawyer and one of dozens of civilians deployed along rural roads in the occupied West Bank to enforce coronavirus controls. Some fear the civilian checkpoints will foster resentment among Palestinians, as villages with no COVID-19 cases turn away residents from places that have recorded an outbreak.”

“The United Nations’ Middle East peace envoy on Sunday expressed grave concern over the situation in the Palestinian territories, urging Israel to do more to help contain the coronavirus pandemic in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. ‘The current situation is extremely dangerous and calls for bold action by all stakeholders,’ Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement. ‘I am concerned about the socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 health crisis on the Palestinian people, particularly vulnerable communities in Gaza.’”

“It was late February when things seemed to change. I was going across the Allenby Bridge from Jordan to the West Bank, and as soon as I reached the Israeli side of the crossing, I noticed workers were wearing surgical masks. Passport control officers were asking visitors if they’d recently visited China. Everyone seemed on edge. How on earth would this novel virus reach the West Bank, I thought. We were already living under Israeli military rule: under lock and key, surely we didn’t need to worry.”

“Like a lot of people, I’ve been sewing face masks recently, for family and friends. I cut the pieces out of a couple of old cotton dress shirts, and I stitch them together on a sewing machine. Each mask is a little better than the one before it, the seams more even, the proportions more proportionate. I no longer have to replay a few seconds of a YouTube video to know what I’m supposed to do next. And as the construction becomes more effortless, I begin, more and more, to admire the sewing machine I’m working at. It is nearly as old as I am—a Husqvarna Viking 21a, made in Sweden around 1959.”

“A ministerial committee approved the shutting down of movement in and out of several predominantly ultra-Orthodox areas of the city in order to contain the disease that has already resulted in over 100 deaths in Israel and almost 6,000 around the Middle East, about three quarters of which come from Iran. The measure, which takes effect at noon on Sunday but had been debated for days, faced resistance from ultra-Orthodox ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who rejected singling out their constituency.”

“As countries around the world compete ferociously for limited supplies during the pandemic, they are turning to any help available, and flexing their muscles unapologetically. And with the Mossad having determined that Iran — struggling with its own coronavirus crisis — no longer represents an immediate security threat, the agency could afford to immerse itself in the health emergency, according to multiple people knowledgeable about its operations.”

“Government ministers will hold a videoconference Thursday to discuss plans to ease the far-reaching curbs on economic activity and movement meant to contain the coronavirus, Hebrew media reports said Monday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that Israel could begin gradually easing restrictions after the Passover holiday, which ends Wednesday evening, and Mimouna, which ends Thursday evening, but has not specified what measures would be loosened.”

“A curfew is likely to be reimposed across Israel ahead of the last day of Passover and the Mimouna holiday the following day, as the government strives to prevent a further spread of the deadly coronavirus through social gatherings.”