President Mahmoud Abbas today headed the ministerial meeting via video conference where he spoke about several issues, including the coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, in Palestine and measures to ease the lockdown imposed in early March.
The President praised the government efforts to contain the impact of the virus, which had positive results on the Palestinians, including provision of the necessary equipment to combat the virus.
He added that the crisis put the country in front of two options; measures that some might see as harsh, or loss of life, noting the leadership did what was necessary to save lives.
The President directed the government to ease the lockdown measure, especially with the approach of the holy fast month of Ramadan.
Regarding Palestinian workers, the President indicated that Israel has not taken any action to deal with the workers who work in Israel, saying that “we do not want the workers to become a source of disease so we oblige them to home quarantine and conducting the necessary checks for those who show symptoms.”
He added that discussion is still going on with the Israeli side so that Palestinian workers can return to their homes with dignity, noting that “everything we do is with the aim of making Palestine free of the virus, and we hope that God will help us in that.”
The President warned the American and Israeli governments against embarking on annexing any part of the Palestinian land, adding that despite the current preoccupation in dealing with the coronavirus, this did not distract Palestinians from their main concern, namely, to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He concluded that the leadership didn’t ignore Israel’s aggression and plans, specifically what is related to the annexation or the so-called Deal of the Century, stressing its determination to reject and confront it, and that if the annexation is carried out, “we will take immediate measures against this decision.”
