Egypt Sets Up More Vaccination Centers at Train Stations

A vaccination center at a metro station in Cairo (Egyptian Health Ministry)
A vaccination center at a metro station in Cairo (Egyptian Health Ministry)
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Egypt Sets Up More Vaccination Centers at Train Stations

A vaccination center at a metro station in Cairo (Egyptian Health Ministry)
A vaccination center at a metro station in Cairo (Egyptian Health Ministry)

Egypt has set up additional COVID-19 inoculation sites inside metro and train stations as part of its expanded vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the pandemic

The Health Ministry recorded 803 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, upping the total number of confirmed infections since the outbreak began in the country to 366,634.

The Ministry said 42 patients have died from the disease, raising the death toll to 20,919, while the number of recovered cases amounted to 304,747.

It called on citizens to take the coronavirus vaccine to be protected against the disease.

Health authorities have urged citizens to continue to abide by the preventative measures including wearing facemasks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands regularly, and avoiding crowded places.

The Ministry stressed that the vaccine may not prevent infection, but it can impact disease severity, affirming that all types of vaccines approved by the World Health Organization are available.

It issued a statement advising people to isolate themselves once they feel they have flu symptoms and head directly to the hospital in case they had any respiratory problems.

“Twenty-three public hospitals and 21 university hospitals have been transformed into isolation centers for COVID-19 patients,” the statement read, despite the drop in the number of cases that require hospital admission.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that Egypt has not yet reached the peak of the fourth wave of the pandemic.

He called on citizens to get vaccinated and protect themselves and the society.



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.