Libya Announces Mandatory COVID-19 Jabs for University Students

A side of the headquarters established for vaccination at Ra's Ajdir (National Center for Disease Control).
A side of the headquarters established for vaccination at Ra's Ajdir (National Center for Disease Control).
TT

Libya Announces Mandatory COVID-19 Jabs for University Students

A side of the headquarters established for vaccination at Ra's Ajdir (National Center for Disease Control).
A side of the headquarters established for vaccination at Ra's Ajdir (National Center for Disease Control).

The Libyan authorities announced that it is mandatory for all university students to receive the coronavirus vaccine before the commencement of the new scholar year next week.

This decision concurs with growing concerns of the hike in virus cases during the winter season.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Libya has so far hit 344,000, including 266,000 recoveries and 4,720 deaths, the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed.

The data provided by the center showed a decline in coronavirus cases.

During his meeting with heads of universities and education authorities on Tuesday, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Libya's Government of National Unity, Omran Al-Qeeb stressed the vaccine will be “mandatory” to all students.

Those who don’t hold a vaccination certificate will have no access to any university or a higher education institution.

A medical source from the center told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that there are mounting concerns of a hike in the cases during the winter season.

However, he noted that the weekly report, number thirty nine, on the state of the epidemic revealed a progress compared to the past week.

The source attributed the progress to an increasing number of citizens who received their 1st and 2nd dose of the vaccine.

In the same context, the Ministry of Health held its second virtual meeting on Wednesday with its Egyptian counterpart.

NCDC and the Libyan Center for Biotechnology Research, in the presence of the Health Minister Ali Al-Zanati, signed on Wednesday, at the Ministry of Health in Tripoli, a joint cooperation agreement.

The agreement included exchanging scientific expertise, organizing seminars, scientific conferences and workshops, working on developing scientific and technical cadres in all fields, and conducting researches and studies, in addition to the formation of joint committees to combat the coronavirus pandemic.



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.