Israel did worst job of all in confronting COVID-19

By Robert Inlakesh

Palestinian farmers wearing surgical masks as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic harvest carnation flowers in a greenhouse in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 16, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Did Israel put up the worst performance of all, when it comes to its response to the COVID-19 pandemic? The question in itself would seem almost preposterous if one was to simply look at the numbers of confirmed cases alongside the death rate and the policies that Israel is reported to have put in place in order to deal with the virus in places like Tel Aviv. So, let’s look into why this question is actually being asked.

First and foremost, Israel is obligated under international law to ensure the health and safety of those under its ongoing occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds and Gaza. It has been confirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that both International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law apply to Israel when it comes to all those under its de facto control. That being said, it has to be additionally noted that over 50% of the population living in Palestine-Israel are ethnically Palestinian Muslims, Christians or Jews.

When we look at Israel’s handling of this COVID-19 Pandemic, it is easy to be fooled by looking solely at the measures taken to protect those who bear Israeli citizenship. This of course should not be how we judge Israel’s response, as this excludes around 5.5 million Palestinians under Israel’s occupation, which Israel has been continuing to persecute during the course of the COVID-19 outbreak.

So how has Israel dealt with Palestinians in the occupied territories during the pandemic?

As of this year, the Gaza Strip is officially considered by experts at the United Nations to be an uninhabitable space. Israel has been urged on a near yearly basis, by the United Nation and leading Human Rights Organizations to end its siege due to the deteriorating effect it has on the lives of the two million people living in the besieged coastal enclave. Gaza is amongst the most densely populated areas on earth and 97% of its water is unfit for human consumption. Israel has refused to ease its siege on Gaza. It has also refused to send the necessary medical goods needed for Gaza to deal with a coronavirus outbreak, of which Gaza is in short supply of.

Israel has also violated the UN’s global call for ceasefire, continuing to use lethal force against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On the 22nd of March, Israeli forces killed a 32-year-old Palestinian from the village of Nilin, near Ramallah, and on the 27th of March, Israel bombed three different areas inside of the Gaza Strip, after reports of rocket fire into Israel. Another Palestinian died of his gunshot wounds, Islam Dweikat, suffered in the south of Nablus last month, at the hands of the Israeli military. In addition to this, Israel also targeted Homs, Syria with airstrikes launched from Lebanese airspace on the 31st of March without provocation.

Israel’s arrest and detainment campaigns in the West Bank and East al-Quds have also been ongoing, evidently not taking into consideration social distancing. 

According to the Israeli Human Rights Organization BT’selem, Israeli forces accompanied by two cranes and a bulldozer raided the village of Khirbet Ibziq in order to bulldoze emergency facilities built to deal with COVID-19, as well as to confiscate equipment needed to deal with the virus’ outbreak.

On the first of April, Israeli settlers in East al-Quds were caught spitting on Palestinian cars in the vilage of Beit Iksa, which locals feared could have been an attempt to spread the virus as well as being a hate crime.

Another disturbing series of incidents were recorded, including the reported dumping and abandoning of Palestinians, who were working in Illegal settlements outside of checkpoints after they displayed signs of sickness. Israeli settlers also attacked and vandalized a Palestinian cemetery earlier this month and have been accused by local human rights groups of taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reports have now also surfaced, voicing the concerns of Palestinians living in East al-Quds, who are without access to coronavirus testing, specifically those living behind checkpoints, such as the residents of Shuafat camp and Kufr Aqab, home to around 150,000 al-Quds ID-holders. Israel’s Mayor of al-Quds, Moshe Leon, has even accused Israel’s Health Ministry of neglecting Palestinian hospitals, specifically in Eastern al-Quds. 

As for Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli military prisons, none have been released. However, there are some such as Iran, which have released thousands of their prisoners. As a US ally, Israel has not been urged to release its prisoners, whilst Iran and some others have been consistently called on to do more.

With Israel completely neglecting millions of Palestinians in its response to the novel coronavirus’ pandemic, one can only draw the conclusion that it has effectively done the worst job of all at dealing with the outbreak. To put it in perspective, this sort of reaction -- or lack thereof -- to the outbreak amongst Palestinians and its continued brutalization of Palestinians, could amount to its acting as accessory to genocide if the virus mutated and began to have a much higher kill rate.

Much of the genocide of the Native populations of North America and Australia was done through the spread of disease, these deaths are viewed by many as the responsibility of the settler colonial projects of those days. If Israel continued down its current trajectory in the face of much deadlier pandemics, it would surely be held accountable. Such is the severity of its current ongoing crimes against Palestinians during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer and political analyst, who has lived in and reported from the occupied Palestinian West Bank. He has written for publications such as Mint Press, Mondoweiss, MEMO, and various other outlets. He specializes in analysis of the Middle East, in particular Palestine-Israel. He also works for Press TV as a European correspondent.