RAMALLAH, Sunday, March 21, 2021 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic-language dailies focused today on the government's easing of the lockdown measures and the announcement of a new set of partial lockdown measures, in response to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Palestine.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Quds said that the government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem announced in a statement a new set of partial easing of the public lockdown measures, which included reopening commercial stores and public venues, while keeping weekend and night lockdown for two weeks.

The dailies also reported that the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that mass vaccination of the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against coronavirus will start on Sunday morning, adding that the first batch of 62,000 corona vaccines (38,000 Pfizer and 24,000 AstraZeneca) arrived in Palestine on Thursday as more vaccines are expected in the next days.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam said that Palestine recorded 1780 new COVID-19 cases, 27 deaths, and 1695 recoveries in 24 hours.

The dailies said President Mahmoud Abbas received Saturday evening the first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine, urged citizens to continue to adhere to the public safety protocols and the inoculations instructions of the Ministry of Health so as to pass this difficult time.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam said that the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) started receiving nomination applications for the 2021 legislative elections scheduled for May 22, and that electoral lists have been asked to submit the names of their candidates to the CEC headquarters in Ramallah and Gaza.

Al-Ayyam and al-Quds said that the Israeli forces seized 18 donums of lands in the occupied West Bank city of Salfit.

K.T/M.N