“With the deadline to call new elections inching closer, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is weighing carefully his demands of, and threats against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the two jockey over forming a unity government. In the latest move designed to pressure Netanyahu, Gantz is reportedly threatening to push for a reshuffle of the Knesset’s judicial appointments panel if talks fall apart. Gantz is warning that should the talks fail to yield a government and Israel head into its fourth elections in 16 months, he will move up a vote on the key committee before the national vote, Hebrew media reported Sunday.” See Also: “Gantz to appoint reps to judicial selection committee if no unity deal” (Jerusalem Post)

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz met briefly Monday morning but failed to bridge their gaps as talks on the formation of a unity government appeared to blow up. Gantz had reportedly insisted in recent days that a deal was imminent, but looked set Monday to advance legislation that would disqualify his rival from continuing to serve as prime minister, essentially threatening to sink prospects of an agreement for good. Despite reports indicating that talks had fallen apart, the Likud party put out a statement late Monday morning saying that negotiations were continuing.”

“For Yamina, like Shas and the other ultra-Orthodox party, Gantz without certain left-wing elements might become a more convenient partner than before. Both Gantz and Ashkenazi are accepted figures among the right wing and the ultra-Orthodox. ‘Even [Finance Minister Moshe] Kahlon is fed up with Netanyahu,’ a source close to the finance minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. According to the source, Kahlon sent a clear message to the prime minister: If a unity government is not founded, he intends to resign immediately within the three weeks that the law allots to establishing a government. He will not wait any longer for his replacement.”

“President Reuven Rivlin has set August 4 as the date for an unthinkable round of fourth elections should the Likud and Blue and White fail to form a unity government, as negotiations between the two sides was deadlocked Thursday night. Negotiations between the two parties have been stuck over the Likud’s demands to pass legislation to protect Netanyahu from possible rulings by the High Court of Justice which might invalidate him either as prime minister or later as deputy prime minister due to his criminal indictments.”

“Stores that sell electronics, home appliances and office equipment are back in business, but they must follow specific rules: take the temperature of employees and customers; limit the number of customers in a store at one time; implement spacing and a physical barrier between customers and cashiers at the cash register; and frequently disinfect their spaces.”

“The Tel Aviv suburb had 1,202 infections per 100,000 residents (2,349 actual cases), followed by the northern Arab Israeli town of Deir al-Asad in northern Israel with 99 cases, a rate of 796 for 100,000 residents. On Saturday,  Deir al-Asad and neighboring Bi’ina became restricted areas for seven days, amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak. Over the past week, Bnei Brak has seen a 24 percent rise in new cases of COVID-19, while ultra-Orthodox cities Elad, Beitar Illit, Modiin Illit and Jerusalem all saw even larger spikes.”

“On Sunday, Erdan met with Arab mayors and a few proposals were raised in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus during Ramadan. It was proposed to approve emergency regulations intended specifically for the month as was done for the Passover holiday, which would include a ban on opening sweets and food stores in the evening, along with taking action to prevent gatherings. Erdan told the mayors that the ministerial committee on the coronavirus crisis will meet on Monday to discuss the proposals and will examine the possibility of issuing special regulations for the month of Ramadan.”

“Some two thousand people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square Sunday to protest anti-democratic measures passed during the coronavirus crisis and the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while maintaining social distancing. The protest included speeches by prominent lawmakers from the center-left bloc, including former co-leaders of Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan. ‘This is how democracies die in the 21st century,’ said Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid in his speech, ‘They don’t die because tanks overtake parliament, they die from the inside.”‘ See Also: “Israelis accuse Netanyahu of endangering democracy” (Associated Press)

“…the occupation is having a profound impact on Israel’s ability to handle the outbreak — specifically, by draining the financial resources needed to maintain a functioning public health system that is equipped to respond to such crises. Israel’s public health system is structurally robust. But an occupation-induced policy of fiscal austerity has left it operating on the brink — and under-equipped to take on a pandemic. “

“‘What is novel about the situation indeed… is that the Israeli government is using these tools on its own population,’ Marwa Fatafta, the policy manager at the rights group Access Now, said during an event hosted by the Foundation for Middle East Peace on Friday. ‘There are lots of question marks about what these tools mean for our freedoms to privacy and expression.’ According to Israeli reports, Shin Bet, an organisation with no public transparency requirements, can retroactively track the movements of those found to be carriers of the coronavirus in order to see those they interacted with in the days and weeks before they were tested, in order to place those people in quarantine.”

“The latest cases are a couple who returned to the Gaza Strip from abroad five days ago. They had been staying at a quarantine facility at the Rafah Crossing where they tested positive for the virus, the ministry said. Nine of the 15 cases have recovered from the virus and have since tested negative, it said. There have also been 309 cases in the Palestinian Authority controlled West Bank, including two deaths.”

“In the shadow of Israeli watchtowers and settlements, they have co-opted an emblem of their occupier and set up improvised checkpoints — to enforce a Palestinian Authority lockdown in areas where Palestinian police are not permitted to patrol. ‘We do not imitate the Israeli occupation,’ activist Nasser Khatib insisted. ‘We call this a checkpoint of love and peace.’ The activists, mainly affiliated with the ruling Fatah party, man the checkpoints to keep Palestinians from driving between towns during the day and off the streets toward nightfall, between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m.”

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday warned the Israeli government and the US administration against plans to “annex” any part of the West Bank. Abbas, who was speaking via video conference during the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet in Ramallah, said that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic does not mean that the Palestinians have forgotten about Israel’s intentions to apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and Northern Dead Sea.”

The pandemic further makes clear that mitigating a virus’ spread is not enough to overcome it. Ultimately, we need a cure, and for that we need to work toward discovering it with dogged determination. It has become a fashion among some intellectuals in Israel to speak of conflict mitigation, or ‘shrinking the conflict,’ while expediently avoiding talk of a permanent settlement. While not without some merit, conflict mitigation alone cannot be a stand-in for proactive attempts to end the conflict. A peace process and confidence and security-building measures, with a clear end goal, remains the only recourse to definitively end Israel’s Palestinian quandary. The franker we are about it, the sooner we can start to work toward achieving it.”

“From a military security perspective, Israel’s leading experts, including the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) warn that annexation of the Jordan Valley makes no sense, as it only weakens Israel’s military security interests. Annexation threatens Israel-Jordan relations and the very Peace Treaty signed between the countries. COVID-19 is a harsh reminder of how interconnected and dependent we are on each other from an environmental and public health perspective with direct ramifications for the strength of our economies. The Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian public must re-evaluate their support for leaders who lead a populist agenda. The arrogance shown by some international leaders, who did not initially view the coronavirus as a legitimate threat, already cost the lives of thousands of people in their respective countries. COVID-19 is an opportunity to change the policy framework in support of regional cooperation, essential for a sustainable, prosperous and peaceful future for all of us in this region.”

“One Palestinian official who asked not to be identified told Al-Monitor Israel is refusing to release any prisoners, even for humanitarian reasons, in order to use them as bargaining chips in the current prisoner exchange talks with Hamas. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council, which is made up of 17 Palestinian nongovernmental organizations, made an urgent request March 23 for the intervention of international organizations “to ensure the health and safety of Palestinian prisoners held captive, particularly as many are minors, chronically ill, vulnerable populations or held under administrative detention in contravention of international law.’ Six Israeli rights organizations wrote to the minister of public security and to the Justice Ministry March 19, demanding that immediate steps be taken to reduce to the minimum number of prisoners and detainees held in Israel in order to protect their health during the pandemic.”

“Arab American Institute President James Zogby, who was a longtime Sanders supporter, suggested that Biden’s Mideast policy will be influenced by what happens in the region, in particular if Israel annexes the West Bank, and by the ‘shifting debate’ in the party on Israel. ‘Regardless of what Biden himself may have said in the past, or done at any time, there is a growing current of opposition to business as usual, and the direction of Israel at this point — maintaining the occupation while keeping a low profile so it doesn’t aggravate the U.S. — is business as usual on steroids,’ Zogby said. ‘I believe in a Democratic administration there will be consequences for Israeli behavior.’ Zogby expressed his hope that Biden will work out his differences with the progressive base ‘and he will become the standard-bearer for a united Democratic party’ and ‘we will see a tougher stance on settlements, clearly on annexation’.”

“The Donald Trump administration is touting a small amount of COVID-19 assistance for both Palestinians and Yemenis as part of a major increase in coronavirus aid for several Middle Eastern countries. There’s just one problem — the aid for Palestine and Yemen falls short of the funding Congress actually appropriated for fiscal year 2020. The State Department on Thursday announced $5 million in new coronavirus aid for the West Bank and Gaza as well as another $500,000 for Yemen as part of a $508 million emergency package. But that aid comprises only 7% of the Palestinian economic and humanitarian assistance and 1% of the Yemeni stabilization assistance that Congress has appropriated for fiscal year 2020.”