Mondoweiss Palestine correspondent Yumna Patel joined Phil Weiss and Dave Reed to give an update on the coronavirus outbreak in Palestine. Yumna is based in Bethlehem, the epicenter of the outbreak in the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s year-long political stalemate appears to be over. Netanyahu was saved by coronavirus and racism. The virus made him popular. Racism stymied Benny Gantz’s efforts to form a government with Palestinian support.
Many Palestinians in Gaza with post-graduate degrees struggle to find even some form of underemployment. And the most highly specialized workforce is leaving, if they can.
The first Palestinian has died from the novel coronavirus in the occupied West Bank, officials announced on Wednesday. The victim was identified as a woman in her 60’s from the Biddu village, north of Jerusalem in the central West Bank.
The Israeli hospital system would collapse without Palestinians, who make up a sizeable percentage of doctors, nurses and pharmacies, but the Jewish politicians who are trying to form the country’s next government exclude the 15 Palestinian legislators from any real role in that future. And they call that a democracy?
Advocates for regime-change think if the US squeezes Iran enough during the pandemic, the people will turn against the clerics. They made similar foolish conclusions about Iraq. They underestimate the power of nationalism. Iran has become a regional power in part because its people have solidified against sanctions.
Nine members of Congress have signed on to a letter asking the Trump administration to suspend U.S. sanctions on Iran amid the COVID-19 crisis. The letter comes amidst a wider effort by activists to raise awareness of the issue and pressure the Treasury Department to take immediate action.
The tail end of March and beginning of April is often regarded as the most beautiful season in Palestine. But this year, residents of Bethlehem mourn the passing of spring in quarantine, as the city-wide lockdown enters into its fourth week.