Coronavirus: the West Bank is reconfigured

Aerial view of the streets of Ramallah emptied of its population during the confinement period, March 23, 2020. ABBAS MOMANI / AFP

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The West Bank is again confined, for a minimum of five days. Since this Friday morning, Palestinians can no longer leave their homes and everything has closed, except pharmacies, supermarkets and bakeries, are subject to a curfew, and Palestinian workers must remain in Israel. Strict measures to deal with the increase in the number of patients with coronavirus, which has doubled in one week.

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With our correspondent in Ramallah, Alice Froussard

The streets are empty, all the shops are closed, and the call to prayer encourages residents to stay at home. The calm is impressive. But this time, the confinement gives an impression of deja-vu . Ahmad is manager of Wadi Climbing, a climbing gym in Ramallah which has been closed for 3 months. "  We just reopened, and there we are again confined. It's very annoying. People were happy to get back to normal life, go back to sport, enjoy the gym. And me, it's my job. So there, I no longer work, and since no one can come, it affects Wadi Climbing. We have no more money to pay the rent for the room.  "

More careful, but economically complicated. In Ramallah, many cafes and restaurants did not even reopen after the first confinement, unable to pay their employees. Ashraf Treish, the owner of Zest, a downtown restaurant, is split. “  I know people can't take it anymore to stay at home. But as a restaurateur, we have clearly seen that there has been a drop in clientele, especially in the last two weeks, since the virus spread, and that the number of cases is increasing more and more. People are just afraid to go out. Hopefully this new confinement will give them some motivation to return.  And to add, optimistic: "  maybe it will only last five days  ".

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  • Palestinian territories
  • Israel
  • Coronavirus
  • Confinement

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