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Israelis, Palestinians Unite to Battle COVID-19

As coronavirus continues to appear in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the IDF and the Palestinian Authority have launched a joint effort to stop its spreading and prevent a massive outbreak, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported over the weekend. According to the report, 250 COVID-19 testing kits were delivered to the Palestinian Authority. Joint training sessions for Israeli and Palestinian medical staff were set up to provide information on personal protection while handling a person thought to carry the virus. COGAT also provided the Palestinian public in PA-ruled Judea & Samaria and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with an Arabic translation of the Health Ministry's instructions on self-quarantine, designed to prevent a massive outbreak of the disease. The digital instructions were made accessible on various online platforms. A possible scenario feared by Palestinians is an outbreak of the virus in the Gaza Strip. Home to roughly two million residents, the strip of land is controlled by Hamas terrorists. Gaza's health crisis may make such an outbreak deadly and put in direct danger millions of people on both sides of the border. After hotel employees from Bethlehem were infected with COVID-19 upon coming into contact with Greek visitors who had the virus, the IDF, along with Palestinian security forces, isolated the city, populated by nearly 30,000 residents. Since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a national emergency after 16 residents were diagnosed as carriers of the virus, approximately 3,000 tourists have found themselves in quarantine at various hotels in Bethlehem, including fourteen USA tourists. (J.Post/VFI News)