“As the threat of a widespread coronavirus outbreak looms large, workers in Gaza’s weakened health sector fear the besieged enclave won’t have the resources to cope, with hospitals short on ICUs, medicine, staff and testing kits. (video report from Gaza)”

“On the outskirts of Ramallah, 10 miles to the northeast, sits a village tucked between the sleepy hills of the West Bank, with a population of about 6,000. Sinjil, small in size, is huge in deeds. It has become an example to follow for Palestinians. Soon after the coronavirus outbreak began, the village’s residents formed popular committees to deal with the deadly threat…”

“Spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Sami Mshasha said the Israeli occupation authorities are impeding UNRWA’s efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the occupied city of Jerusalem and its refugee camps, the organisation’s spokesperson has said.”

“With stanzas written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish drawn on masks or sand sculptures of people wearing masks with messages telling them to stay home, Gazan artists are finding inspiration in the coronavirus pandemic and using their skills to help others stay safe. ‘We drew the same masks used by characters of [Netflix’s] ‘La Casa de Papel’ on masks for young people. We opted for stanzas or quotes by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish for older people,” artist Dorgham Qreiqa, 23, told Al-Monitor, as he drew the image of a spiky coronavirus on a mask in his Shujaiyah home studio in eastern Gaza City.”

“A group of radical settler youths who had been put in a coronavirus quarantine facility in the West Bank on Thursday abandoned the camp, which was set up for them by the military. A source in the defense establishment said that several army tents were stolen. Police arrested two suspects. On Monday, the group attacked Palestinian campers and torched their cars. Israeli police opened an investigation into the incident which took place in the southern West Bank, near the Dead Sea.” Also see: Times of Israel – Settler extremists quarantined in West Bank abscond with IDF-supplied tents; Jerusalem Post – Hilltop youth escape IDF quarantine facility

“The number of Palestinian families living under the official poverty line is expected to double in the coming months due to the coronavirus crisis, the Palestinian Authority’s Social Development Minister warned yesterday. Ahmad Majdalani told reporters in Ramallah that some 53,000 families have dropped below the poverty line since the start of the crisis. “This has prompted thousands of enterprises and businesses to impose strict measures to contain the situation,” he explained. This figure is expected to increase by the end of April.”

“The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said the movement will not abandon Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel or Arab countries, calling on Arab officials and popular organisations to shoulder their responsibilities towards them. Haniyeh made the remarks during two telephone calls with the President of the Arab and International Forum for Justice for Palestine, Maan Bashour,  and the General Coordinator of the National-Islamic Congress, Khaled Al-Sufyani, during which he discussed a number of issues including the conditions of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

“A Kashrut supervisor could be behind a coronavirus outbreak in the Galilee Arab town of Deir al-Asad, where 24 people have been confirmed positive. An epidemiological investigation found that the Kashrut supervisor visited a slaughterhouse in the town on April 5 and infected several of the workers who went on to infect others.”

“The residents of several Arab towns in northern Israel were placed under lockdown on Wednesday after a severe outbreak of coronavirus in the area. According to Channel 12 News, police and military forces were called to the area to enforce the order. The Health Ministry imposed the measure on four Arab villages in the Galilee: Deir al-Assad, Nahf, Ba’ana and Majd al-Kroum. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Galilee spiked from five to 23 on Wednesday and to a total of 31.”

“Members of the emergency coronavirus committee for Israel’s Arab community, which includes experts and representatives from local governments, did not hide their apprehension about the coming week. According to the committee’s figures, which are based on those of the Health Ministry, as of Wednesday morning there were 418 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Arab community. That number does not include cities with a mixed Jewish-Arab population or Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. The committee said it is expecting a dramatic increase in the number of cases once the results of Wednesday’s tests are received.” Also see: YNet – Arab sector is an after-thought in battle against virus

“While approximately a quarter of the workforce is now unemployed as a result of the novel virus, low wage earners, who tend to be minorities, are disproportionally harmed. Their communities were fighting poverty before the outbreak, but the battle against impoverishment has become much more difficult since the government shut down most workplaces last month.”

“Spokesman for President Reuven Rivlin Harel Toby replied to a request by Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz and Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin, clarifying President Rivlin’s decision not to fulfill their request to transfer the mandate for assembling the government to Prime Minister Netanyahu. In his letter, Toby alluded to the chain of events since the conclusion of the previous elections, stating that the President’s decision was made after it became apparent Netanyahu would not be able to form a governing coalition.”

“Five scenarios leading to Israel’s next government, or fourth election.”

“Israel ran into another wall — actually, the same wall — in its quest to break a year-long political impasse early Thursday when another deadline passed without the country’s main rival factions able to strike a deal and form a government. The two sides, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Army chief Benny Gantz, were still talking when midnight came and went, marking the end of Gantz’s official window to assemble a ruling coalition. The rivals, spurred by the coronavirus crisis, have been struggling for weeks to agree on a power-sharing arrangement in which they would take turns in the prime minister’s office. Hours later, Israeli President Reuvin Rivlin snubbed both politicians by refusing to give Gantz more time or passing the charge to Netanyahu. Instead, Rivlin tossed the mandate to the parliament, giving any member of the 120-seat Knesset 21 days to find the 61 votes needed to take power.”

“Israel’s president has asked the Knesset to choose a new prime minister, giving the parliament three weeks to agree upon a leader or plunge the country into an unprecedented fourth consecutive election in just over a year. President Reuven Rivlin made the move after his prime minister-designate, former military chief Benny Gantz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to reach a power-sharing deal by a midnight deadline.”

“Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman this morning called on Gantz in a Facebook post to advance laws that would prevent Netanyahu from serving as Prime Minister while he is a criminal defendant. He proposed an amendment to the law that would prevent a prime minister or minister from serving in the event that an indictment is filed against them. Such an amendment would block Netanyahu’s ability to serve as a Prime Minister, since he was formally charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in November of last year and is awaiting trial. Further, he demanded that Gantz advance laws limiting the prime minister’s tenure to two consecutive terms and giving Israel sovereignty of the Jordan Valley.”

“Israel has failed to establish formal relations with more Arab states in recent years, and it has not boosted trade or forged closer diplomatic ties. While it enjoys a slight warming of relations with some Arab rulers, and growing public interest in what it has to offer, Israel would pay dearly if it annexed the West Bank, dealing a significant blow to the Palestinians and destabilizing Jordan. The repercussions would put an end to its dreams of cooperation with the region and of a united front against Iran.”

“…circumstances enable Israel to demand a comprehensive deal for the return of prisoners and bodies in one shot, in exchange for a reasonable number of Hamas inmates. Israel can insist on holding direct negotiations without numerous mediators, and seek a much lower price than what it paid for the Shalit deal. In a totally unexpected way, the coronavirus crisis has provided an opportunity to resolve the prisoners and missing soldiers issue in Gaza at a reasonable price. The release of a few dozen prisoners only for information, or the return of civilians without the troops’ remains, would not be the correct way to proceed.”

“Israeli defense officials warned Wednesday that Israel must act quickly to make the most of what they called a ‘window of opportunity’ to strike a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and retrieve two Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip as well as the remains of two IDF soldiers. The circumstances allow for a deal to come to fruition but both sides will be required to make ‘painful concession’ to see it through, the officials said.”

“The Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post published an editorial endorsing plans to reach a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel, arguing that ‘it is about time that our boys return home. After six years that the Goldin and Shaul families have suffered, and following a five-year struggle for the Mengistu and Al-Sayyed families, Israel should finally exercise its authority and fight for what it stands for,’ the newspaper added, referencing the soldiers who went missing in Gaza. Commenting on the possibility that Israel would receive no more than dead bodies if a deal was reached, the Jerusalem Post stressed that it is important for Israel to return its soldiers’ bodies nonetheless. ‘Even in their bodies, our Jewish values mandate that we work to retrieve them.’”

“An Israeli military drone fired two missiles at a vehicle carrying four members of Lebanese Hezbollah just inside Syria near the border with Lebanon yesterday. Local media reported no casualties, but the car, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, was severely damaged. Sources said the first strike missed, and the four men got out of the car before a second strike hit the vehicle.”

“Israel reportedly carried out a strike Wednesday on a Hezbollah vehicle in Syria, close to the Lebanese border. Initial reports said a number of Hezbollah terrorists were killed in the strike on a civilian vehicle transporting weaponry from Syria to Lebanon. But later reporting indicated that though several people were injured, none were killed.”

“A passenger in a car targeted in a Wednesday airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel was the son of a senior Hezbollah military commander who was allegedly assassinated in a joint Israeli-American bombing over a decade ago, the Al-Arabiya news site reported Thursday. He survived the attack, along with the other people in the vehicle…On Thursday morning, Al-Arabiya reported that one of the people in the vehicle was Mustafa Mughniyeh, the son of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a 2008 car bombing attributed to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and the American CIA.” Also see: Israel Hayom – Hezbollah claims senior members escape Israeli drone strike in Syria