Morocco’s Interior Ministry: Risk of Coronavirus Outbreak Still Exists

Closed shop in Casablanca, Morocco, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (AFP)
Closed shop in Casablanca, Morocco, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (AFP)
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Morocco’s Interior Ministry: Risk of Coronavirus Outbreak Still Exists

Closed shop in Casablanca, Morocco, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (AFP)
Closed shop in Casablanca, Morocco, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (AFP)

Moroccan Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said on Tuesday that allowing some economic activities to resume work does not mean lifting the state of emergency or ending quarantine.

He pointed to the need to continue adhering to the precautionary measures that have been approved at the beginning of the crisis.

Speaking during the plenary session in the country’s House of Councillors on the Ministry’s measure to face the coronavirus pandemic after lifting quarantine, Laftit said the risk of coronavirus outbreak still exists.

Any decision regarding quarantine will not be taken before June 11, he stressed, affirming that the decision will be taken following a very careful assessment of the epidemiological situation by the health authorities.

The Minister noted that significant progress has been made in controlling the virus, but significant negative challenges imposed by the new economic and social situations must be faced.

He reviewed the various measures taken by the ministry since declaring the state of emergency.

“The success of the measures taken by Moroccan authorities has disturbed some of the bodies that followed an opportunistic approach aimed at underestimating the efforts made and promoting nihilistic rhetoric to spread frustration.”

He cited the great number of false news circulated, prompting judicial prosecutions against violators, as this news “affects the community’s security and stability.”

Meanwhile, a total of 1,469 remote sessions were held by Kingdom’s various courts between April 27 and May 29, said the Higher Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ).

During this period, 22,268 cases were reviewed and 9,035 cases were closed.

According to the CSPJ, 24,926 detainees benefited from remote trials to spare them all the health risks in this exceptional situation, highlighting the significant results and the positive indicators noted during the first month of implementing this process.

It expressed pride in the serious and responsible involvement of all judicial authorities, institutions and professionals, in light of the harmonious cooperation to make this initiative a success.

The Council considered that these important and promising results have many positive indications at the various legal and organizational levels.



Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways.

The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial.

Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7.

Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common.

An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked.

“All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell.