RAMALLAH, Tuesday, March 10, 2020 (WAFA) – The rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Palestine with the discovery of five new cases yesterday and another one late at night raising the total to 26 was highlighted on the front page of three Palestinian Arabic dailies published today.
The papers said four of the new cases were found in Bethlehem, the epicenter of the disease in Palestine, and the fifth in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the first case outside Bethlehem for a worker who contracted it from his workplace inside Israel, as reported in al-Ayyam daily, which also said that all foreign tourists who were stuck in Bethlehem over the past few days have left the city and returned to their homes.
The three papers continued to give broad coverage on their front page for the disease that has raised the alarm worldwide and of its impact on world economies.
Al-Quds said Israel decided to force all arrivals from abroad to remain in quarantine for 14 days as the number of coronavirus cases in Israel has risen to 50.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said President Mahmoud Abbas met with Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh for an update on the fight against the novel disease and thanked the Emir of Qatar for supporting the Palestinians with medical resources to help them fight the disease.
It said the government gave the ministries of education and of higher education the powers to decide on the work schedule for the teachers and staff in order to come up with a plan for education by proxy.
In other non-coronavirus news, al-Quds said the Israeli army uprooted hundreds of olive sampling in the Bethlehem area and targeted Palestinian fisherman in Gaza.
It said a right-wing member of the West Jerusalem Israeli municipality has stopped all Palestinian building permits in the occupied city.
It also said the Palestinian security released Hussam Khader, a Fatah leader and former lawmaker from Balata refugee camp, at orders from President Abbas. He was detained for five days for his writings on social media.
Al-Ayyam said Israel plans to open a road for Palestinians only east of Jerusalem so that they will not use the roads used by Israeli settlers.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said President Abbas has mourned the death of Abdul Razzaq al-Yehya, former commander of the Palestinian Liberation Army, the military arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
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