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Arab World

PA Announces West Bank Lockdown as Virus Numbers Soar

A healthcare worker checks the body temperature of Palestinian workers returning from Israel outside the Israeli-controlled Meitar checkpoint, in the West Bank April 7, 2020. (Reuters)
A healthcare worker checks the body temperature of Palestinian workers returning from Israel outside the Israeli-controlled Meitar checkpoint, in the West Bank April 7, 2020. (Reuters)
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PA Announces West Bank Lockdown as Virus Numbers Soar

A healthcare worker checks the body temperature of Palestinian workers returning from Israel outside the Israeli-controlled Meitar checkpoint, in the West Bank April 7, 2020. (Reuters)
A healthcare worker checks the body temperature of Palestinian workers returning from Israel outside the Israeli-controlled Meitar checkpoint, in the West Bank April 7, 2020. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday announced a five-day lockdown across the West Bank after total confirmed coronavirus infections in the territory more than doubled following the easing of previous restrictions.

"Starting from Friday morning, all governorates of the West Bank... will be closed for a period of five days," government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said, adding that pharmacies, bakeries and supermarkets were exempt.

The latest data from the Palestinian ministry of health said that as of Wednesday morning, a total of 2,636 people had tested positive for COVID-10 since the illness was first recorded in the West Bank, compared with just 1,256 a week ago.

Last week, after the easing of a previous coronavirus lockdown in late May, Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila said the territory had entered a second wave of infections "more dangerous than the first".

Most infections were traceable to Palestinians working in Israel or Arab Israeli visitors to the West Bank, Kaila said.

There have been seven deaths from the virus in the territory.

Israel has also recorded a surge, with 25,547 confirmed cases on Wednesday morning, up around 15 percent from a week earlier.

The Palestinian Authority imposed a full West Bank lockdown after the first coronavirus cases were identified on 5 March, lifting it at the end of May.

A public health state of emergency was reimposed for 30 days from early June.

Bethlehem was closed from Monday morning after a major spike in COVID-19 infections.

The cities of Hebron and Nablus were also already under lockdown.

Tens of thousands of West Bank Palestinians travel to work in Israel as day laborers and Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has urged them to self-isolate for 14 days.

Those who are temporarily staying in Israel have been asked not to return home for the time being.

Arab Israelis -- descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948 -- have also been asked to avoid visiting.

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Arab World

Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Arab World

UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

The UN migration agency on Monday said 53 people were dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were rescued.

The International Organization for Migration said the boat overturned north of Zuwara on Friday.

"Only two Nigerian women were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation by Libyan authorities," the IOM said in a statement, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other said "she lost her two babies in the tragedy.”

According to AFP, the IOM said its teams provided the two survivors with emergency medical care upon disembarkation.

"According to survivor accounts, the boat -- carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00 pm on February 5. Approximately six hours later, it capsized after taking on water," the agency said.

"IOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route."

The Geneva-based agency said trafficking and smuggling networks were exploiting migrants along the route from north Africa to southern Europe, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to "severe abuse.”

It called for stronger international cooperation to tackle the networks, alongside safe and regular migration pathways to reduce risks and save lives.