Palestinians fear ‘economic disaster’ due to coronavirus restrictions

The state of emergency announced in the PA-controlled territories in the past few weeks has had a negative impact on a large number of Palestinian families.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Police officers in coronavirus protective suits (photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Police officers in coronavirus protective suits
(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
At least 50,000 Palestinian families have been added to the Palestinian Authority’s list of emergency social welfare aid since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, PA Social Affairs Minister Ahmed Majdalani said on Tuesday.
The state of emergency announced in the PA-controlled territories in the past few weeks has had a negative impact on a large number of Palestinian families, particularly laborers who rely on daily work, Majdalani added.
Meanwhile, the PA announced that a new coronavirus case has been detected in Ramallah, bringing the total number of infected patients to 60. According to the PA, 16 patients have recovered from the disease.
PA government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said a Palestinian woman who recently returned from the US tested positive for the virus. The woman, in her 40s, did not come into contact with other people and has been placed in quarantine, Milhem said.
Milhem added that a Palestinian laborer working in Israel, who was brought by the Israel Police to a checkpoint in the West Bank on suspicion he may have contracted the virus, has tested negative. Milhem accused Israel of “racism” for abandoning the laborer at the side of the road.
Severe restrictions imposed by the PA government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in the closure of most businesses in the West Bank.
Palestinian economic experts warned that the restrictions, which include curfews on some Palestinian communities, would aggravate the economic crisis in the West Bank and pose a major challenge to the PA government.
“We are very close to an economic disaster in the Palestinian territories,” said economic expert Waleed Jaber. “I’m not sure the government has the tools to deal with a major crisis, especially unemployment and poverty.”
Jaber said Arab citizens of Israel who used to converge on Palestinian markets in the West Bank on a daily basis have disappeared.
Israeli authorities have advised Israeli citizens not to enter the PA-controlled territories after the discovery of the first coronavirus cases in Bethlehem earlier this month.
“Thousands of Arab Israelis used to come to Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem for shopping and leisure,” said Jamal Abu Laban, a restaurant owner from Ramallah. “The Arab Israelis played a major role in boosting the Palestinian economy. Now, they don’t come here and this is very bad for the businesses. Everyone is suffering as a result of the pandemic.”
Palestinians from Bethlehem, which has been under lockdown for the past three weeks, described the situation there and in the nearby towns of Bet Jala and Bet Sahour as “catastrophic.”
George Ibrahim, a tourist guide from Bethlehem, said many people have run out of money and “can’t afford to buy milk or diapers for their children.”
“If the crisis continues for another week, you will see people taking to the streets to search for food,” Ibrahim told The Jerusalem Post. “I know many people who don’t have one shekel. We feel that no one cares about us during this critical time.”
Volunteers from several Palestinian communities in the West Bank have been collecting food and other aid for the residents of Bethlehem, Bet Jala and Bet Sahour.
On Tuesday, the PA delivered food to several Christian clerics at the Church of Nativity and monasteries in the area.
The PA Ministry of Finance announced a series of measures to assist the private sector in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus. The measures include ensuring financial liquidity for the private sector and cancelling fines for those who fail to submit tax returns on time, as well as suspending procedures regarding income tax issues and customs until the end of the state of emergency.