2020-04-02: News Headlines

RT (2020-04-02). Netanyahu, just out of isolation, goes back in after health minister tests positive for Covid-19. rt.com On Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended his self-isolation period, but now he has to go back into quarantine after another senior official tested positive for Covid-19. | Netanyahu is one of several top government officials who will be quarantined following the positive test of Health Minister Yaakov Litzman. Others include Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, and several leadership-level figures in the Health Ministry who all recently came into contact with Litzman. | The 71-year-old health minister and his wife Chava…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-04-02). Tunisia Leads the Way: New Report Exposes Israel's False Democracy. dissidentvoice.org Tunisia is the Middle East's greatest success story, according to the findings of the V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019. One of the world's most regarded annual reports on democracy and good governance, the V-Dem Report is produced by the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. While Tunisians can be …

yenisafak (2020-04-02). COVID-19 infections surge in several Arab countries. yenisafak.com Health authorities in Morocco, Oman, Palestine and Lebanon confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Thursday. The Moroccan Health Ministry said 22 coronavirus infections were confirmed, bringing the country's total infections to 676 in addition to 39 deaths. | In Oman, health authorities said 21 new cases were added to the country's COVID-19 infections, raising the total to 231. | On Wednesday, Oman's first fatality from coronavirus was reported. | In Lebanon, total infections jumped to 494, along with 16 fatalities related to the virus. | In Palestine, the Health Ministry said 21 coronavirus…

Ron Skolnik (2020-04-01). A rosy phantasmagorical (and probably counterfactual) report from Israel's future. peoplesworld.org As Israel celebrated its centennial Independence Day in May 2048, its media reflected back on the many red-letter dates that had marked the tumultuous life of the nation: The UN vote of 1947, the various wars, of course, and the diplomatic agreements reached, first with Egypt and Jordan, and decades later with the rest of …

Rami Almeghari (2020-04-01). Israeli Troops Seize a Palestinian-owned Caravan in Jordan Valley. imemc.org Israeli troops reportedly seized on Wednesday, a Palestinian-owned caravan, located in the Israel-occupied area of Al-Aghwar, in the eastern occupied West Bank. Witnesses told media outlets, earlier today, that the confiscated caravan is owned by a local Palestinian resident in the Jordan Valley. Local legal activist, Aref Daraghma, told local …

teleSUR (2020-04-01). Israeli Settlements are 'Loophole' in COVID-19 Fight: Palestine. telesurenglish.net Palestine on Wednesday said that the only loophole in its fight against the novel coronavirus is the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. | RELATED: | "The real weakness in the Palestinian battle against the spread of coronavirus is the occupation, settlements, checkpoints, and all its (Israeli) policies that attempt to thwart our efforts to protect our people," said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye in a press statement. | "The P…

Rami Almeghari (2020-04-01). Palestinian Prisoner Contracts Coronavirus in Israeli Jail. imemc.org The Ramallah-based Palestinian Committee for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners confirmed on Wednesday, that a newly released Palestinian prisoner tested positive for the coronavirus. The announcement came after prisoner, Noureldin Sarsour, a resident of Betunia town, west of Ramallah city, who was incarcerated for 2 weeks at Ofer Israeli prison, upon his …

Ali Salam (2020-04-01). Israeli Forces Demolish Palestinian Home, Deliver Stop Work Order for Livestock Barn. imemc.org Israeli forces demolished on Tuesday, a Palestinian-owned house still under construction in the village of Jbara, south of Tulkarem, according to the head of Jbara village council, Ihsan Tahsin. Tahsin told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that a large army force broke into the village, in the northern occupied West Bank, …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-01). Euro-Med Monitor: Israeli Forces' Incursions and Soldiers' Behavior Jeopardize Measures to Prevent Outbreak of COVID-19. imemc.org The Euro-Med Monitor followed with a great concern reports of suspicious behaviors of Israeli soldiers and settlers, during the storming of Palestinian houses, as some of them spat at parked cars, ATMs and shop locks, which raises fears of deliberate attempts to spread the virus and cause panic in the …

Rami Almeghari (2020-04-01). Palestinian Young Man Dies of Wounds Inflicted by Israeli Forces Last Month. imemc.org Palestinian medical sources in the West Bank city of Nablus, pronounced dead, a young Palestinian man, after he had sustained wounds caused by Israeli troops, last month. The sources identified the young man as Islam Dwaikat, 22, and said he was wounded by Israeli troops that opened fire at Palestinian …

Rami Almeghari (2020-04-01). Israeli Army Tanks Invade Parts of Gaza, Raze Palestinian Farmlands. imemc.org Armored vehicles of the Israeli army invaded early on Wednesday, the northern besieged Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, according to local sources. Sources and witnesses said that a number of armored vehicles including combat tanks, rolled about tens of meters, deep into farm lands, owned by local Palestinian farmers …

Ali Salam (2020-04-01). Home of Palestinian Prisoner and Slain Brother to be Demolished by Israeli Forces. imemc.org Israeli forces on Monday, handed a home demolition order to the family of slain Palestinian Saleh Barghouthi and his brother, Qassam Barghouthi Barghouthi's family were given until April 8 to evacuate their two-floor home in Kobar village, in the central West bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Information Center reported. …

Miko Peled (2020-03-31). Remembering Theresa Halsa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance. mintpressnews.com Amman, Jordan — "I didn't join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering, I joined out of a sense of patriotism," Theresa Halsa, a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an In 1972, Halsa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv. The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed to release Palest…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-31). Israeli Troops Abduct Four Palestinians in Pre-Dawn Raids. imemc.org Israeli troops reportedly abducted on Tuesday four Palestinian residents in the West Bank city of Ramallah and the town of Albeira, after invading their towns and their homes. Local media outlets, quoting witnesses, reported that among the four abducted was a local lawyer, and that the abduction occurred in the …

Jonathan Cook (2020-03-31). As Israel's Netanyahu uses Coronavirus to Consolidate Power, his Chief Rival Caves In. dissidentvoice.org Benny Gantz, the former Israeli general turned party leader, agreed late last week to join his rival Benjamin Netanyahu in an "emergency government" to deal with the coronavirus epidemic. Two weeks ago he had won a wafer-thin majority vote in the parliament that gave him first shot at trying to put together a coalition government. …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-31). Israeli Colonial Settlers Raze Palestinian Farm Lands near Nablus. imemc.org Israeli colonial settlers on Tuesday, razed vast areas of Palestinian-owned farm lands in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. Local media outlets said that the lands razed, are located near the illegal Israeli colonial settlement of Shefout Rahel. The sources confirmed that today's bulldozing caused widespread harm to tens …

John Nichols (2020-03-31). On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times. thenation.com On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times…

Susan Price (2020-03-31). Palestinians face two enemies: Occupation and pandemic. greenleft.org.au The number…

PCHR (2020-03-30). COVID-19 State of Emergency: Powers and Restrictions Under Palestinian and International Law. imemc.org The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): Introduction: On 05 March 2020, the Palestinian President issued a decree declaring a 30-day state of emergency to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Palestine.

Andrew Green (2020-03-28). [Obituary] Aron Goldhirsch. thelancet.com Medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer. Born on April 25, 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, he died on Feb 26, 2020, in Lugano, Switzerland, aged 73 years.

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

CounterSpin (2020-01-31). Omar Baddar on Israel/Palestine 'Peace' Plan, Rainey Reitman on Greenwald Persecution. fair.org MP3 Link This week on CounterSpin: It is strange to think that you could create a plan to shape the relationship between two entities, in consultation with one but not the other, and then not just declare it, yourself, a "win-win," but also say to the unconsulted party, "You better take it, or else." Yet …