The state of Israel, which has been isolating itself and struggling with the political crises during the pandemic, has been blockading the Palestinians living in occupied Jerusalem from prevention and treatment services.
The director of the National Coalition for the Human Rights in Jerusalem Zekeriyya Avde says that Israel had not done any Covid-19 tests on the Palestinians living in Jerusalem, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Avde evaluated this situation with these words, “Israel’s late initiation on founding the Covid-19 test centers, is a part of the Judaification efforts on Jerusalem, through the practices that force Palestinians for the deportation.”
At a meeting in the last week, the Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Israel was using the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to carry out the further the annexation of Palestinian territories and to expand the foundation for the new Jewish settlements.
TESTS ARE NOT BEING PROVIDED
Israel should at the very least provide necessary services for those living under its occupation according to international law, however it is not providing tests in appropriate quantities, and has generally been anything but proactive.
According to local sources, a clinic in the Silwan Neighborhood in the east of Jerusalem, which was a test clinic for the Covid-19, was closed due to an Israeli police crackdown.
The exact number of the diagnosed patients in the east of Jerusalem is still unknown, according to a report released on Tuesday, by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Palestinian journalists in Jerusalem say there are countless numbers of cases in the city.
According to the data published by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the number of the Covid-19 cases in the country have reached 449.
The ministry has reported that 120 of those who are diagnosed with the virus were found in the occupied East Jerusalem, 15 were in the Gaza Strip and the rest of them were in the West Bank.
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THEY TOLD PRISONERS TO USE THEIR SOCKS AS A MASK
Another problem is with Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons. The Palestinian media reports that Israel does not provide Palestinian prisoners to use gloves or masks, instead telling them to use their socks.
While the spread of the epidemic among detainees in the Israeli prisons is being discussed, it has been reported that 900 Palestinian detainees have developed various health problems and chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes and hypertension, making the coronavirus all the more deadly.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE PRISONERS
We asked Yousra Abdallah, an activist from Ramallah, about the inhumane acts of the Israel against Palestinians during the pandemic:
“The Israel state, which is “legally” responsible for Palestinians’ healthcare, has turned a blind eye to the catastrophe caused by its own actions. Beside this, police violence and discriminatory quarantine policies continue. Covid-19 is bringing into the open Israel’s racist and inhumane policies more than ever.
While Israeli workers have been asked to stay at home for weeks, some 55,000 Palestinian workers have been forced to continue going to their workplaces in absolutely inhumane conditions, with no access to basic hygiene or protective gear.
On the other hand the majority of Palestinians are today refugees and are not living in Palestine, and are therefore affected in different ways by the outbreak.
In the occupied West Bank, Israel is using the lockdown to take advantage and dramatically escalate its brutal attacks on Palestinians with almost daily killings and arrests.
We organized a campaign to demand the release of prisoners in the Israeli prisons because of the outbreak of the coronavirus in the prisons. These prisoners are threatened not only by violence and torture, but also risk their lives due to the virus. We call on the international community to support this campaign to liberation of Palestinian prisoners and solidarity with the Palestinian people. To learn more about our campaign please visit the Facebook page of Addameer Prisoner Support & Human Rights Association.”
GAZA IS FACING CORONAVIRUS UNDER ISRAELI SIEGE
Mohammed Asghari, Coordinator of Justice for Peace organization from Iran also commented on the situation of Palestinian people on the conditions of pandemic:
“The Palestinians are struggling with pandemic amid the Israeli occupation, and occupation makes the coronavirus more dangerous for Palestinians and fighting the coronavirus is a serious and challenging matter for them. West bank operates fully under the Zionist occupation which has no regard or respect for the health of the Palestinian people which is clearly seen in this case as in every other aspect of Palestinian life in West Bank. But the situation in Gaza is worse than this. The blockade of Gaza is ongoing on the land, air, and sea, having been imposed by Israel since 2007. More than 2 million Palestinian including 1.4 million refugees live in Gaza where the coronavirus outbreak could quickly spread as the strip is one of the world’s most densely populated places: the Palestinians have nowhere to flee because of Israel’s blockade. The UN warned 8 years ago that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020, and now as of 2020 Gaza is facing coronavirus under Israeli siege. Gaza has only 87 care beds with ventilators for its 2 million people which is extremely worrying.
Another worrying issue is the situation of Palestinian prisoners. The Zionist regime is intentionally neglecting Palestinian prisoners and denying them minimum health rights amid the rapidly spreading pandemic. 5,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli detention facilities including 43 women, 222 children and 700 patients, 200 of whom are suffering from chronic illnesses. Now Palestinian prisoners lives are more at risk than ever.
The spread of the coronavirus poses a direct threat to the lives of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s jails, especially given that it has been proven that Israel continues to violate human international law on the treatment of war prisoners in particular, for the 222 children and 43 female prisoners that are held in the occupation’s jails under conditions incompatible with human rights.
As a justice activist NGO, we joined our Palestinian friends to rise our voice against Israeli regime and to demand the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners jailed for their resistance to occupation and to ensure their safety from Covid-19. We are part of the struggle worldwide to raise awareness on Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails with no genuine means of protection from the pandemic. We should highlight the situation of these prisoners. Palestinian prisoners deserve safety, dignity and freedom.”