Over the past week the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to increase in both the West Bank and Gaza, further entrenching November’s trend of a rising second wave.

Israel and Palestine begin to prepare for a possible COVID-19 vaccine as the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees—including health services—announced it has run out of money.

Saeb Erekat, 65, chief Palestinian negotiator and longtime leader in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), passed away on Tuesday following a month-long battle with COVID-19.

After seven weeks of declining COVID-19 infections across the occupied Palestinian territory, this week marked an increase in active cases for the first time since mid-September, and comes just weeks after students returned to in-person instruction.

Palestinian students wear face masks as schools partially reopened amid the coronavirus pandemic in Deir…

This week, the rates of active COVID-19 cases continued to drop with around a 12% decrease in active Palestinian cases.

Saeb Erekat, 65, Secretary-General of the PLO, is reportedly in critical condition after contracting COVID-19 earlier this month. Israeli Knesset members condemned the decision to admit Erekat to Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, saying that Israel should have demanded Palestinian political concessions in exchange for his treatment.

Gaza is partially still under curfew, heading into six weeks of closures and limited movement between governorates in nighttime hours, but some measures were scaled back this week.

Palestinians are trying to enjoy the cooling temperatures and beauty of things like the olive harvest as much as they can, before another spike in the coronavirus, flu, or any other unforeseen challenges that 2020 is sure to throw this way.

There were at least 3,814 new cases of COVID-19 in the occupied Palestinian territory in the last week. Gaza is where most of the new cases are located, adding up to around 18% of overall current Palestinian cases.