عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

West Bank Enters 5-Day Lockdown on Monday

Members of Palestinian security forces stop a car during a lockdown amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah (Reuters)
Members of Palestinian security forces stop a car during a lockdown amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

West Bank Enters 5-Day Lockdown on Monday

Members of Palestinian security forces stop a car during a lockdown amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah (Reuters)
Members of Palestinian security forces stop a car during a lockdown amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah (Reuters)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said Saturday it will impose a full lockdown on the West Bank starting Monday for five days, amid increasing daily coronavirus cases and deaths.

The decision came during an online meeting between Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, Health Minister Mai al-Kaila, and governors of all West Bank districts.

In a statement, government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said it was up to every governorate to take the measures it sees appropriate to both protect public health and the well-being of economic services to its people.

All schools and kindergartens will remain closed during the lockdown, noting that the education process will be online except for high-school students.

Weddings, rallies, festivals, mass parties, and mourning ceremonies will also be prohibited, the statement added.

Public and private hospitals should allocate new wards to receive coronavirus patients, said Melhem, adding that police and security agencies are required to fine the owners of crowded establishments.

Meanwhile, Kaila announced 1,784 new COVID-19 cases and 27 new deaths in the last twenty-four hours, bringing the total number of infections in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip to 234,702, including 2,498 fatalities.

There are currently 170 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units of Palestinian hospitals, the ministry said.

Also, Health Ministry spokesperson Kamal al-Shakhra told Voice of Palestine Radio on Saturday morning that the virus is spreading widely and quickly.

“We’ve opened new wards as the situation has deteriorated. But the wards open as the numbers continue to rise…We’re at 100% capacity in general, even at 110% capacity in some hospitals,” Shakhra said.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
TT
20
TT

Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)

The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by the ISIS group have been found in a remote Syrian town in a search led by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday.

The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find.

Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by ISIS militants who had controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq for half a decade. The extremist group lost most of its territory in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019.

Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people ISIS had abducted over the years.

American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by ISIS.

John Cantlie, a British correspondent, was abducted alongside Foley in 2012, and was last seen alive in one of the extremist group's propaganda videos in 2016.

The search took place in the town of Dabiq, near Syria's northern border with Türkiye.

Mass graves have also found in areas previously controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was ousted in a lightning insurgency last December, ending his family's half-century rule. For years, the Assads used their notorious security and intelligence agencies to crack down on dissidents, many who have gone missing.

The United Nations in 2021 estimated that over 130,000 Syrians were taken away and disappeared during the peaceful uprising that began in 2011 and descended into a 13-year civil war.