PA, PLO officials accuse Israel of deliberately thwarting Palestinian efforts to combat Coronavirus
“The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned the arrest of [PA] Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Al-Hadmi by the occupation police after they barbarically raided his home (Al-Hadmi was arrested for breaching an Israeli ban on PA political activities in Jerusalem –Ed.).
The ministry said that the minister of Jerusalem affairs’ arrest in these circumstances in particular is a continuation ofthe occupation’s steps, which strive to thwart the official and popular Palestinian efforts that are being invested in order to deal with the Corona epidemic.This is a continuing arbitrary arrest that is directed against all of our people in occupied Jerusalem, as an execution of the ominous deal of the century (i.e., refers to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan; see note below) and a completion of the actions of [Jerusalem’s] Judaization, its annexation, and it being emptied of its original owner citizens, as part of an ongoing ethnic cleansing operation.
PLO Executive Committee member [and head of the PLO Department of Diplomacy and Public Policy] Hanan Ashrawi also condemned the ongoing escalation of the occupation’s violations against the citizens and senior officials in occupied Jerusalem and its surroundings, including the repeated arrests of Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Al-Hadmi and the harassment of him, as happened yesterday [April 3, 2020] before his release.
Ashrawi noted that these serious and destructive actions come in the framework of [Israel’s] thwarting the Palestinian [PA] government’s efforts to fight the Corona epidemic in the State of Palestine…
Ashrawi noted that from the beginning of the spread of the epidemic, the occupation authorities have deliberately ignored the health situation of the residents of the holy city [of Jerusalem], including ignoring the conducting of checks for the virus for the Palestinian residents in Jerusalem and its surroundings, and thwarting the Palestinian efforts to disinfect the residential neighborhoods, increase awareness, and provide aid to families that were financially harmed during this crisis…
Ashrawi added: ‘The racist and extremist Israeli occupation and its illegal acts, including thwarting the Palestinian efforts against the Corona epidemic, are the real danger threatening the lives of the tens of thousands of defenseless Palestinians in Jerusalem and outside of it.’”
The Trump peace plan – US President Donald Trump announced his Israel–Palestinian peace plan "Peace to Prosperity" – commonly known as “the deal of the century” - on Jan. 28, 2020. Main points of the plan: 1- Israeli sovereignty would be applied to the Jordan Valley and all Israeli towns and cities in the West Bank. 2- Jerusalem, including all its holy sites, would remain under Israeli sovereignty with accommodations made to enable access for Palestinians. 3- The remainder of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and part of what is currently Israeli land in the Negev, the Galilee, and Jerusalem - creating a territory almost equal in size to the West Bank and Gaza Strip - would form the Palestinian state, with its capital in neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that are outside of Israel's security wall. 4- The Palestinian state would be demilitarized, with Israel responsible for external security and controlling all airspace. 5- All Palestinian prisoners except murderers, and those who attempted or conspired to murder would be released. 6- Palestinians in refugee camps would be absorbed into their host countries and, subject to certain limitations, into the Palestinian state. 7- Before becoming a state, the Palestinians would have to carry out extensive reform of their laws and institutions, including implementing a new governing system; granting its people due process and basic human rights and freedoms; end all incitement to and incentivizing of terror; end all glorification of terror and martyrdom; disarm Hamas; and adopt a culture promoting peace. The goal of the plan is to create a Palestinian state beside Israel, living in peace and security. The implementation would be facilitated through extensive international investment.