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Coronavirus and the Palestinians

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Pinhas Inbari - The coronavirus scare has captured the mind of Palestinian public opinion. There are also political concerns related to Mahmoud Abbas' health. The octogenarian receives health care that weakens his immune system. According to sources in Ramallah, Abbas does not receive audiences, and his discussions with operatives in the field are made via telephone. Fatah institutions have weakened. The municipality of Jenin in the northern West Bank, for example, refused to receive a delegation from Ramallah to coordinate the popular struggle against the U.S. peace plan. Now, the entire "Popular Struggle" program is crashing, including the active participation of Europeans on Friday marches. On the Temple Mount, the anti-Jordanian Hizb ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party), with strong influence among many of the al-Aksa Mosque's activists, planned to send a delegation to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (and possibly the King) to request that Saudi Arabia replace Jordan as the "guardian" of al-Aksa. Then the coronavirus story broke and the matter was frozen. During the last Ramadan holiday, Hizb ut-Tahrir announced the beginning and end of the fast according to the lunar calculations of Saudi Arabia, and not those of the PA and Jordan.
2020-03-17 00:00:00
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