Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for greater enforcement of emergency measures; National Security Council chief Ben-Shabbat warns of new coronavirus outbreak.
According to a new study by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, only about 15 percent now say they prefer Israeli citizenship, down from 52 percent between 2010 and 2015.
In a special interview, U.S. envoy David Friedman dismisses the left’s criticism of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and reassures the right it will only have to contend with a Palestinian state “if the Palestinians become Canadians.”
The first step in lifting the coronavirus lockdown was the reopening of various outdoor sites and centers, from the Western Wall to the Machane Yehuda open-air market.
Malls and outdoor markets reopen as Israel further eases COVID-19 restrictions
Israel’s coronavirus death toll reaches 239, though the country’s infection rate continues to fall.
The former vice president said “the move shouldn’t have happened in the context as it did,” but seems intent on keeping the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
“People don’t realize how many Holocaust survivors are still here, living on their street,” said Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hasson-Nahoum. “It is a wonderful connection to the generations to see them face to face.”
“Our priorities need to be straightened out,” said writer Moshe Farkash. “If, despite the dire warnings of all global authorities and public-health experts, the public remained indifferent and flaunted directives, we must urgently address such devastating callousness.”
The Jordan-appointed council that oversees Jerusalem’s Islamic sites calls the decision “painful,” though says it is “in line with legal fatwas [Islamic religious rulings] and medical advice.”
Under the directive, which will be in effect until April 15, residents of neighborhoods with high COVID-19 morbidity rates will be restricted to one of the city’s seven zones.
Israel arrests PA Jerusalem affairs minister for fourth time
Police arrest Fadi al-Hadami for allegedly breaking ban on Palestinian political activity in eastern Jerusalem • P.A. prime minister demands official’s immediate release “as we work to save our people’s lives from COVID-19.”
Planned bypass road in the E1 zone between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim part of an Israel plan to “sever the contiguity” of a potential Palestinian state, says PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat.
