RAMALLAH, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas today issued a decree extending for 30 more days the state of emergency in Palestine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state of emergency was first declared in March 2020 after the discovery of the first cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian territories and has been either extended or re-instated every 30 days since then.

The Palestinian basic law allows a one-time extension of the state of emergency, and if it has to be extended for a longer time, a new declaration should be issued.

The state of emergency gives the government the power to act in any way it deems necessary to combat the pandemic.

M.K.