عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Palestinians Seek Closure of West Bank Crossings to Curb Virus

A worker of the Palestinian Bethlehem municipality sterilizes a street against the coronavirus on June 25, 2020 in the Aida Refugee Camp near in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AFP)
A worker of the Palestinian Bethlehem municipality sterilizes a street against the coronavirus on June 25, 2020 in the Aida Refugee Camp near in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AFP)
TT
TT

Palestinians Seek Closure of West Bank Crossings to Curb Virus

A worker of the Palestinian Bethlehem municipality sterilizes a street against the coronavirus on June 25, 2020 in the Aida Refugee Camp near in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AFP)
A worker of the Palestinian Bethlehem municipality sterilizes a street against the coronavirus on June 25, 2020 in the Aida Refugee Camp near in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AFP)

The Palestinian prime minister called on Israel Monday to close all West Bank crossings, saying a lack of Palestinian control over the access points was responsible for surging coronavirus cases.

The call from Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh came as both the occupied West Bank and Israel continued to see a rising virus caseload, sparking fears of a second pandemic wave that could prove difficult to contain.

"The infection rates reached unprecedented levels in Palestine due to many things, including that we do not control our crossings (and) our borders," Shtayyeh said ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting.

"We are calling on Israel to close all the crossings and for Palestinians working in Israel to stay at their places of work and not return to the Palestinian territories," he said.

There have been more than 4,200 confirmed coronavirus cases in the West Bank, including 16 deaths.

Israel has meanwhile recorded more than 30,000 cases, including nearly 18,000 recoveries and more than 330 deaths.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that it was clear the pandemic was "spreading".

His government later announced plans for renewed restrictions, including the closure of event venues, clubs, bars, gyms and public pools -- all of which had reopened in recent weeks.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
TT
TT

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP

The Sudanese army said Saturday it had retaken a key state capital south of Khartoum from rival Rapid Support Forces who had held it for the past five months.

The Sennar state capital of Sinja is a strategic prize in the 19-month-old war between the regular army and the RSF as it lies on a key road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.

It posted footage on social media that it said had been filmed inside the main base in the city.

"Sinja has returned to the embrace of the nation," the information minister of the army-backed government, Khaled al-Aiser, said in a statement.

Aiser's office said armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had travelled to the city of Sennar, 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, on Saturday to "inspect the operation and celebrate the liberation of Sinja", AFP reported.

The RSF had taken the two cities in a lightning offensive in June that saw nearly 726,000 civilians flee, according to UN figures.

Human rights groups have said that those who were unwilling or unable to leave have faced months of arbitrary violence by RSF fighters.

Sinja teacher Abdullah al-Hassan spoke of his "indescribable joy" at seeing the army enter the city after "months of terror".

"At any moment, you were waiting for militia fighters to barge in and beat you or loot you," the 53-year-old told AFP by telephone.

Both sides in the Sudanese conflict have been accused of war crimes, including indiscriminately shelling homes, markets and hospitals.

The RSF has also been accused of summary executions, systematic sexual violence and rampant looting.

The RSF control nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur as well as large swathes of Kordofan in the south. They also hold much of the capital Khartoum and the key farming state of Al-Jazira to its south.

Since April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 11 million -- creating what the UN says is the world's largest displacement crisis.

From the eastern state of Gedaref -- where more than 1.1 million displaced people have sought refuge -- Asia Khedr, 46, said she hoped her family's ordeal might soon be at an end.

"We'll finally go home and say goodbye to this life of displacement and suffering," she told AFP.