“The situation with [coronavirus] in the West Bank worries us all and could cause a humanitarian crisis,” Finance Minister Moshe Khalon (Likud) said on Thursday after he met with President Reuven Rivlin and UN Special Coordinator to the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun and Chief of the UNESCO Coordination Unit, Jonathan Lincoln were also involved in the conversation on how best to help the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. According to the World Health Organization, there are 278 cases of COVID-19 among Palestinians in the West Bank, with two deaths. In addition, there are 13 cases in Gaza. But officials fear an outbreak and want to ensure that the Palestinians are equipped to handle that crisis.”

The United States announced on Thursday it would provide a five-million-dollar grant to the Palestinians ‘to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19,’ breaking away from a freeze of aid funds that has lasted for over two years. American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in a tweet he was ‘very pleased’ by the decision to provide funds for Palestinian hospitals and households. The United States ‘is committed to assisting the Palestinian people and others worldwide in this crisis,’ he said….In 2017, the Trump administration cut all funding for humanitarian projects, hospitals, infrastructure and educational initiatives benefiting the Palestinian civilian population. This also included programs in East Jerusalem, which is fully controlled by Israel and is not recognized as part of the Palestinian Authority. But Congress decided to continue approving tens of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians, while the administration responded by using those funds as leverage over the Palestinian leadership. The administration, however, continued to provide only limited security assistance to the Palestinians in order to pressure the PA to accept its Middle East peace plan, and in light of Israel’s request not to harm Palestinian security forces working in coordination with it to combat terrorist activities.”

“The Trump administration’s decision to send $5 million to Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank in order to help them fight the coronavirus, does not represent a change of policy regarding aid to the Palestinians, but is rather part of a larger decision to fight the spread of the pandemic across the Middle East, according to sources within the administration…The decision to include the Palestinians in this broader investment is not, however, totally independent from other political and diplomatic considerations. As reported earlier in Haaretz, the administration is hoping that within several weeks or months, assuming the spread of the virus slows and Israel has a new government, it will be able to continue working on its Middle East plan which was revealed in January.”

“It’s a story that even a screenwriter would have a hard time coming up with: fearing that Palestinians employed inside the Green Line will bring the new coronavirus back into the West Bank, Palestinians are reporting breaches in the separation barrier that divides Israel from the occupied territories. Members of the Popular Committees, who for the past two decades have coordinated non-violent demonstrations against the concrete wall and metal fences that make up the barrier, are themselves trying to fix the holes.”

“Israel must immediately lift restrictions on supplies and equipment entering Gaza and ensure Palestinian doctors and nurses have the resources they need to ensure the health and safety of their patients. It should also lift travel restrictions so that Palestinians in Gaza who are sick can leave to receive treatment elsewhere. As the occupying power, Israel is responsible for the well-being of Gaza’s population. If they cannot ensure that, they should stand aside to allow Palestinian doctors, nurses and other health-care workers to safeguard the health of their people.”

“The New York Times article failed to provide its readers with any thoughtful insights into the concept of ‘normalization,’ let alone an explanation as to why so many Palestinians staunchly refuse to hold any kind of dialogue with Israelis. The piece also expresses a kind of sympathy with the depoliticized concept of ‘dialogue’ and ‘peace talks,’ while trivializing the anti-normalization movement and presenting anti-normalizers as people who find fault with ‘the idea of befriending Israelis.'”

“Israel on Thursday said the city of Bnei Brak and some areas of Jerusalem will remain a virtual lockdown until next week. The Knesset committee in charge of combating the health crisis voted for the areas to remain ‘restricted’ until Monday, April 20 in Bnei Brak and until Sunday, April 19 in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, more neighborhoods will be added to the list of ‘restricted areas.'”

“The High Court of Justice on Thursday appeared to lean toward permitting the Shin Bet surveillance program of coronavirus infected citizens to continue presuming the full Knesset passes a new law on the issue in the near future. High Court President Esther Hayut, Vice President Hanan Melcer and Justice Noam Sohlberg, all of who donned corona masks for portion of the hearing, hinted this was their leaning in a number of ways over the course of the first live-aired hearing in a new transparency project.”

“Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz presented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an ultimatum the afternoon of April 16: If Netanyahu does not sign an agreement for a unity government by April 20, Gantz will advance legislation preventing an indicted politician from composing a government…Gantz decided to take matter into his own hands early April 16 and not wait for Netanyahu to change his mind after coalition talks hit another dead end. According to reports, Gantz was under the impression that Netanyahu actually seeks a fourth election, after three previous rounds have yet to lead to the formation of a government.”

“The Israeli president on Thursday handed the task of forming a government to Parliament, starting a 21-day countdown that could lead to new elections, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, Benny Gantz, missed another midnight deadline to reach a power-sharing agreement. The step, which was mainly technical, on its own does little to find a way through Israel’s yearlong political impasse. Neither Mr. Netanyahu nor Mr. Gantz can currently muster a majority without joining forces, and their parties issued a joint statement on Thursday saying that negotiations for a unity government would continue.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convinced the Supreme Court is part of a judicial ‘deep state’ out to finish him politically and send him to prison. He is threatening to sink the coalition talks with Kahol Lavan if Benny Gantz doesn’t offer him a safety net to sidestep the High Court of Justice which, the premier is saying in private conversations, will try to get rid of him. ‘Let there be no doubt, the High Court will take the opportunity to oust me,’ Netanyahu himself says in these conversations. He warns that if the court prevents him from being prime minister, or if a law is enacted banning him from running for the post in the future, a civil rebellion will erupt. ‘Masses will take to the streets,’ he predicts. ‘There will be a call to boycott the election.’”

“’In light of the events of the past 24 hours, the embarrassing past month, the past year. I want to put forward a proposal to this house: Enough of the politics,’ Lapid told the Knesset plenum. ‘People don’t have enough food to put on the table. Businesses are collapsing. People are dying in hospitals. We need to solve the crisis of the lack of tests. We need to start to tackle the economic crisis because no one has really started to tackle it. In these circumstances, the creation of a corrupt and bloated government is a national disaster. The idea that we’ll get dragged to fourth elections is disturbing. It’s completely detached from reality,’ he added.”

“[Dennis] Ross and [David] Makovsky are not alone in praising Gantz for this decision. Many across the political spectrum have similarly applauded, and there is merit to the view that Gantz did the right thing when his country was facing an unprecedented emergency from the COVID-19 pandemic. But Ross and Makovsky strike new ground with their implication that Gantz is saving the two-state solution by standing against ‘moves toward West Bank annexation,’ which, “’f not prevented outside of the major existing settlement blocs, will make it geographically impossible for Israelis and Palestinians to create two separate entities, leaving one state for two peoples.’ Gantz supports unilateral annexation, and he does not stop at the so-called ‘major settlement blocs.’ Back in September, he complained that Netanyahu had ‘stolen’ his annexation plan. Gantz made his complaint very public, concerned that he would be seen as opposing annexation. He publicly accepted Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century,’ which proposed massive annexation of most of the land surrounding Palestinian towns and villages, earlier this year. Gantz has never obfuscated about his support for annexation, although he does want to be more cautious about it than Netanyahu. The portrayal of Gantz in the United States as the voice of reason — an image cultivated by many, not just in groups like WINEP — is largely based on him not being Netanyahu.”