“Residents in West Bank Settlement of Yitzhar hurled fire bombes at Border Police troops late Thursday after a neighboring outpost was declared a closed military zone earlier in the week.”

Also see:

Times of Israel – Yitzhar area settlers hurl fire bombs at troops in ‘terror attack’ — police
Ha’aretz – Israeli Army Decries ‘Terrorist Incident’ After Settlers Throw Firebombs at Troops Arutz Sheva – IDF Chief of Staff: ‘Firebombs in Yitzhar were a serious terror incident’
Times of Israel: IDF, cops condemn settler firebombing of troops as ‘serious terror attack’
Israel Hayom: PM condemns ‘criminal’ settler attack on security forces

“Israeli settlers are exploiting a lockdown, imposed in the occupied West Bank to slow down the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, to annex Palestinian land and launch attacks against Palestinian civilians and their homes. Over the past week, there have been at least three incidents of residents of illegal Israeli settlements razing Palestinian lands and paving roads in the districts of Nablus, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. There has also been a spike in attacks against Palestinians and their properties, with Middle East Eye documenting abuses in the villages of Madama, Burqa and Burin.”

“‘We are treating the coronavirus as an enemy more dangerous than the Israeli occupation,’ says Dr. Kifah Manasra, a lecturer on criminology at Bethlehem University and a practicing psychologist. ‘You cannot see it. It’s not an armed Israeli soldier standing in front of you.’…’This is the first time we feel we are in the same boat as our political leadership,’ Manasra continues. ‘The first time we can decide when to impose a curfew and when to lift it. It’s not the Israelis controlling us — we are controlling ourselves, in our own city, our fates. If we can overcome the coronavirus, we can overcome the occupation too.’”

“..The agreement is supposed to be based on rotation and parity: if he remains true to his word – which he rarely does – Netanyahu will step down in September and make room for Gantz as prime minister. What it really means is that Netanyahu, indicted on charges of corruption, will stay in office and stand trial at the same time. That is the real deal between Gantz, described by Netanyahu as ‘half baked’ and ‘insane’ during the last election campaign, and Netanyahu, defined by Gantz as ‘corrupt dictator’ and ‘Israeli Erdogan’, a truly derogatory term in our political vocabulary.”

“In a stunning turnabout, Israel’s Blue and White Party split in two yesterday, paving the way for Benny Gantz to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an unity government. After a year of political turmoil and three election cycles, Netanyahu appears poised to enter his fifth term as premier…Gantz’s move paves the way for an imminent three-year rotation agreement to be signed between him and Netanyahu. The Blue and White leader will reportedly serve as defense minister for 18 months until he is slated to replace Netanyahu as prime minister. A Likud member is expected to serve as finance minister, while a Gantz ally will likely become foreign minister.” Also see: Israeli journalist Eylon Levy on Twitter – “Gantz is bringing 15 seats to Netanyahu’s 36. I think in his heart, he knows he’s not becoming PM in 18 months.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was set to hold onto power after his chief rival, Benny Gantz, reversed himself Thursday and signaled that he would be open to serving in a Netanyahu-led government…For Mr. Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, it was only the freshest evidence of why many Israelis consider him a political genius who, despite the obstacles, can never be counted out.”

“Benny Gantz had three choices before him. He could have betrayed his voters by reneging on his central campaign promise of being an alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Alternatively, he could have betrayed his second campaign promise to not rely on the Joint List to form a minority government. Or lastly, he could have taken Israel to a fourth election. Ultimately, Gantz was left to decide between rubber stamping Netanyahu’s corruption, his annexationist policies, and his attacks on Israel’s democratic institutions, or to back Jewish-Arab partnership with the representatives of the majority of Israel’s Palestinian citizens. On Thursday, despite polls showing that an overwhelming majority of his voters supported the latter option — and despite threatening to pass legislation that prevent Netanyahu from serving as he faces trial — Gantz opted for the former. By entering into a unity government, half of Blue and White — a political alliance made up of three anti-Netanyahu factions — ditched Gantz and went to the opposition. The new government will be far-right, religious, and corrupt, just like the last one. This time, however, it will have Gantz’s moderate right-wing face.”

Times of Israel: Labor, Gesher said set to join Gantz in gov’t; Liberman allies say ‘no chance’

JPost: Druze MK becomes first Gantz ally to rebel

YNet: Gantz deal leaves Netanyahu allies in the cold

YNet: Lapid: Gantz stole votes, gave them to Netanyahu

YNet – “Lapid: I trusted Gantz, but he stole our votes and handed them to Netanyahu”

Israel Hayom: Joint Arab List: Benny Gantz betrayed us

YNet: Meretz MK Zandberg: Benny Gantz, what have you done?

YNet – Meretz chief: Gantz is a Netanyahu collaborator, betrayed his voters

Arutz Sheva: Former PM Olmert: ‘Netanyahu’s not a magician – he’s a crook’

YNet: Gantz supporters angry as he moves towards deal with Netanyahu on Israeli leadership

“With the release of V-Dem’s democracy report last Friday, all the three big democracy rating indexes have published their yearly reports for 2020 (their data covers 2019). It is bleak reading – and that does not count the likely even more negative fallout for the world’s democracies that may emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession that will surely follow…So how did Israel fare in this dark hour for liberal democracy? Like last year, Israel ‘s scores were a mixed bag; from again receiving its worst rating ever from Freedom House, to receiving the same, relatively bad rating from V-Dem as it received last year, to again receiving its best rating ever from The Economist Democracy Index. The discrepancies can be explained by looking at the various rating indexes measurements and methodologies, which all rely on expert coding. Freedom House, the most well-known of the big three rating indexes, gave Israel its worst rating ever since its flagship publication the Freedom in the World began in 1973. Freedom House lowered Israel’s aggregated score from 78/100 last year to 76/100 this year.“

“A Jewish Israeli man has been detained by police after sending death threats to Knesset member Ahmad Tibi from the Joint List and to his family.”

“Four more Israelis have died of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s death toll to 12, as the number of infections nationwide climbed to 3,035…The number of Israelis diagnosed with the coronavirus has risen to 3,035, the Health Ministry said Friday morning. Of them, 49 are in serious condition and 60 are in moderate condition…Israel has been placed under lockdown to stem the virus, with Israelis permitted to leave their homes only for essential reasons, such as buying food and medicine or seeking medical care.”

“The countries that have acted quickly to stop the spread of the coronavirus have drawn on their finest technological capabilities to track the movement of their citizens. Israel was one of the first countries in the West to adopt this approach, but the lack of an up-to-date law on protecting the privacy of individuals in the digital era has raised serious doubts among privacy and legal experts – and among large segments of the public – after the Israeli government issued emergency orders granting the Shin Bet security service the authority to track its citizens.”

“Some 500 soldiers will be deployed across the country beginning Sunday to assist police in enforcing the government’s latest restrictions on movement to stem the coronavirus pandemic, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday. The troops will be armed. The military did not immediately explain its full reversal in the decision to have the troops carry weapons, having previously said that the soldiers would be unarmed as they would be serving solely in an auxiliary role to the police. This appeared to be a first step toward preparing for a full national lockdown, in which the military would deploy an additional 2,000-3,000 troops to assist police.”

“Israeli authorities will consider imposing a full lockdown on the country’s citizens if the rate of coronavirus infection continues to rise over the next 48 hours, officials familiar with debates in the special Knesset committee dealing with the epidemic told Haaretz on Thursday. The number of patients in serious condition will also be considered in making the decision. National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat has issued instructions to complete preparations for the lockdown, so it can be enacted at a moment’s notice.”

“The head of the Palestinian Foreign Minister’s Office, Dr. Ahmed Al-Deek, has called on Palestinians stranded abroad and students wishing to return to Palestine to stay in their host countries and take care of their health until new instructions are issued to them. Dr. Al-Deek said the ministry has opened thousands of communication channels with Palestinian communities around the world as well as students studying abroad, checked on their health and safety and urged them to comply with health instructions issued by the host countries regarding the coronavirus pandemic.”

“The Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip is making significant efforts to prevent a full-scale outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), while also threatening to hold Israel “responsible” if the virus does begin to spread. The threats imply rocket fire on Israeli cities if Hamas officials begin losing control of the situation.”

“…PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Thursday he expected the coming days to be ‘more difficult not only for Palestinians but for the rest of the world.’ Shtayyeh expressed concern over the possibility that Palestinians working in Israel may be infected with coronavirus. He urged the PA security forces to tighten their measures at border crossings between the West Bank and Israel and between Palestinian cities to prevent the spread of the disease. Shtayyeh also appealed to Palestinian workers in Israel to return to their homes and undergo tests for the virus.”

“Quartet representatives on Thursday discussed their concerns about the outbreak of the coronavirus in Gaza, which is one of the most densely populated areas the world. Representatives from the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia held a telephone call during which they received briefing on the UN’s global $2 billion COVID-19 Response Plan launched this week. There was a “focus on Gaza” during the conversation, ‘where we are very concerned,’ a UN source said.”

“Despite multiple wars and incessant smaller conflicts, Unipal 2000 has produced clothing in the Gaza Strip for more than five decades. Its designs have appeared in stores across Israel, including in Tel Aviv, Beersheba and Ashkelon, but also to a lesser extent in markets in the Palestinian coastal enclave. Following the global outbreak of the highly contagious coronavirus, however, the Gaza City-based company has taken a break from manufacturing garments, and instead thrown all its resources into producing surgical masks and other protective gear.” Also see: Middle East Eye – Arabic press review: Besieged Gaza exporting coronavirus protective masks to Israel

“Israel must adopt prophylactic and preventative measures to help ensure that the people of Gaza have what they need to battle the novel coronavirus. Otherwise, when the crisis is over, the world could examine how Israel managed the outbreak and judge the Jewish state accordingly. ‘We created the largest jail on earth in Gaza,’ said former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ami Ayalon. ‘We treat almost two million people as prisoners…. Let’s assume they are bad guys and that’s why we keep them in jail. Even prisoners in jail have some rights and we have a responsibility when it comes to these prisoners.’…Right now, Ayalon admitted that each state and society is occupied with its own coronavirus crisis. Most states are not going to be focused on Israel and Gaza. However, ‘on the day after,’ he said, the international community will once again turn toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ‘We cannot survive unless we are perceived as being a good-standing member of the international community,’ Ayalon said. ‘We do not want to be the only members who ‘killed’ hundreds of people because we failed to take action.’”

“Scarcely two years ago Gaza’s border with Israel was a deadly frontline, with black smoke swirling around thousands of Palestinian protesters as they faced off against Israeli troops. The border fence is much quieter now in the run-up to the two-year anniversary on March 30 of the Great March of Return – Palestinian protests seeking to regain access to land, now in Israel, from which their ancestors fled during the country’s creation in 1948. Now with the highly contagious coronavirus spreading, organizers and Palestinian militant factions are discussing whether to cancel or scale down commemorative events. Whatever they decide, Gaza’s medical facilities have already switched their focus from protest casualties to the pandemic.”

“At a time when countries are closing their borders to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, an internet radio station playing out of Palestine seeks to create community in the absence of physical presence. The project has brought together segregated Palestinians communities, while also amassing a global following. Radio Alhara, which means ‘the neighborhood’s radio’ in Arabic, went on the air for the first time on March 20. It was conceived in a Facebook conversation between brothers Elias and Yousef Anastas, and Yazan Khalili, who broadcast from Bethlehem and Ramallah respectively. The project was inspired by and modeled on Radio Alhay in Beirut, launched by Majd Al-Shihabi and friends as a way to stay connected while in quarantine.”