Libya Intensifies Random Tests to Contain Coronavirus

A vaccination campaign in Janzour, western Libya (National Center for Disease Control)
A vaccination campaign in Janzour, western Libya (National Center for Disease Control)
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Libya Intensifies Random Tests to Contain Coronavirus

A vaccination campaign in Janzour, western Libya (National Center for Disease Control)
A vaccination campaign in Janzour, western Libya (National Center for Disease Control)

Libya deployed mobile clinics near the Martyrs' Square in Tripoli to administer the COVID-19 vaccines and fight the spread of the virus.

The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that random tests in the Eastern Province on 2,096 citizens showed a positive rate of 7.6 percent. The center noted that malls, mosques, pharmacies, and cafes are places in which the virus can easily be transmitted.

Commenting on citizens’ adherence to the preventative precautions, NCDC stated that most of the answers in the survey showed negligence to the precautions.

In the same context, Sebha Medical Center in southern Libya complained that the medical teams were being verbally abused by the citizens. This led to some disturbances in the center.

It repeatedly called on the relevant authorities to protect them, but no serious actions were taken to solve this rapidly increasing problem.

Official figures in Libya have shown a remarkable decline in virus infection cases.

This coincides with discussions taking place between Health Minister Ali Al-Zanati and officials from health institutions in the southern region.

Talks covered the obstacles and problems which hospitals are suffering from due to the shortage in medical staff.

The health minister expressed keenness on backing the health sector in the south of the country.

He stressed his ministry’s readiness to tackle the shortage by signing contracts with healthcare members from the north, or even neighboring countries, to provide support.



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.