With scarce resources, the Palestinian government has been confronting Covid-19, which represents a threat against all of humanity. We can be proud of what has been done so far. But it does not change the daily reality faced by the people of Palestine, who live under Israel's occupation. In fact, this reality is only serving to undermine our efforts.
The threat of coronavirus has not stopped Israel’s illegal colonial project, as it continues to demolish Palestinian homes and to confiscate Palestinian properties. Through its officials, Israel continues to make public statements about annexation and its plans to expand existing settlements, mainly in and around occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians, therefore, are confronting more than one threat.
It is a tragic paradox that Palestine is facing these grave circumstances just as it marked Land Day, which honours the Palestinian people’s struggle for our rights over our ancestral land, which has long been falsely referred to by some as “a land without a people.” This idea seems to be driving the alliance between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, which has led to the treatment of Palestinians as foreigners in their own homeland.
I would not be surprised if those in the Trump administration have never even heard of Land Day. If they have heard of it, they would know of the resilience of the Palestinian people, who are capable of subverting their attempts to legitimise the system of apartheid imposed on them, just as they will defeat the coronavirus.
As the Palestinian public sector was mobilising to protect our people from this fearsome pandemic, Israeli raids on Palestinian areas have continued, including a recent, particularly vicious one on the Al Issawiya neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. And as usual, Israeli settlers have continued their terror attacks against Palestinians and their properties under the protection of Israeli armed forces.
Less than two weeks ago, occupying forces killed Sufyan Al Khawaja, a man from Ni’lin, by firing a shot into his head as he sat in his car. Of course, there was no accountability for this crime. We have also seen Palestinian workers dumped at Israeli military checkpoints, accused of being infected with coronavirus, although they received no medical treatment through their Israeli employers. One grotesque image shows a Palestinian worker, who did not have coronavirus, thrown to the ground at the Beit Sira checkpoint. In the Jordan Valley, Israeli forces even confiscated tents that were being prepared by Palestinians to deal with Covid-19 cases. All these violations and the ongoing siege of 1.8 million Gazans illustrate the Israeli authorities’ utter disregard for Palestinian lives.
When Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem were closing, their headmasters received calls from Israeli authorities demanding that they re-open. And when Palestinian youths began the process of sterilising buildings in the city, Israeli authorities arrested them. They also dismantled the barriers erected by citizens in Hebron governorate to examine Palestinian workers coming from Israel in an effort to prevent further transmission of the virus.
In spite of Israel's blocking of our tax revenues, the Palestinian government continues to gather the resources required to combat the pandemic
The situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is equally alarming. Occupation authorities have prevented the entry of several food items, sterilisers, and cleaning tools to more than 5000 Palestinians held in their prisons. They have refused our calls to release them, including the sick, elderly, women, children and administrative detainees. I have personally met with representatives of the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation, demanding that they visit the jails to see the conditions. According to our information, our prisoners are in a state of high risk.
Covid-19 is a threat against everyone and doesn’t distinguish between nations or religions. We have made efforts to have a joint operations room to coordinate on the health situation with Israel, even though it continues to disregard its international legal obligations as an occupying power. Notwithstanding the challenges imposed by the Israeli occupation, we are proud that we have been able to obtain support from international parties, including by bringing Covid-19 testing strips from abroad through our intelligence services.
The upcoming Israeli government is not only tasked to fight the coronavirus in Israel, but also to prepare for further annexation of Palestine. This is heavily linked to the green light provided by the Trump administration through its annexation plan, which, ironically, it refers to as a “vision of peace.” That is, in fact, the mission of the American-Israeli Joint Committee, a body comprised mainly of hard-core extremists. They are committed to the further denial of inalienable Palestinian rights.
Regardless of some governments’ shameful lobbying efforts at both the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council, we in Palestine continue to state that it is not only our right to seek justice through these international organisations, but it is also our duty. Day after day, documentation continues with more information about Israeli crimes and the complicity of international companies. Therefore, we will continue making use of all available tools, international law and the rules-based global system in order to protect our rights.
Blackmail tactics will not make Palestinians accept a reality of apartheid. In spite of Israel’s continued blocking of our tax revenues, as well as US decisions to de-fund Palestinian hospitals and UNRWA, the Palestinian government continues its contacts with international partners, including the United Nations and Arab and European nations, among others, to gather the resources required to combat the coronavirus pandemic. As announced by PM Mohammad Shtayyeh, Palestine urgently needs $120 million to continue its successful efforts as described by the World Health Organisation.
The Palestinian people have reaffirmed that no matter the challenge, we will prevail. Even with all the barriers imposed by the Israeli occupation, we are going to defeat coronavirus. Our resilience and co-operation with those who believe in a rules-based world order will also lead us, sooner than later, towards freedom, dignity, security and peace.
Dr Saeb Erekat is Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)
Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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FIGHT%20CARD
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs: 2018 Genesis G70
Price, base / as tested: Dh155,000 / Dh205,000
Engine: 3.3-litre, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 370hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 510Nm @ 1,300rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.6L / 100km
The%20Kitchen
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Company%20profile
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Sweet%20Tooth
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Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
