Coronavirus restrictions expose deficit in Palestinian-Israeli Oslo Accord
The coronavirus outbreak exposed a largely unknown deficit in the Oslo Accords: the existence of large areas outside the authority of Palestinian and Israeli powers.
On March 31, at 6:30 a.m., a car approached a temporary Palestinian checkpoint. The checkpoint was manned by members of the Palestinian Ministry of Transportation and located on the Palestinian side of the Israeli-built wall around the West Bank. Its aim was to regulate the movement of people into the Qalandia and Kufr Aqab areas during the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Qalandia Media Center, authorities asked the Palestinian driver if he had a permit to be driving during a state of emergency in areas under Palestinian control. Exceptions have been made for medical staff and other essential service providers, but the driver had no such permit. He was not allowed into the town of Kufr Aqab. The angry driver gathered relatives and friends and returned to the checkpoint. For three hours, the group fired shots into the air in protest.
Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem told Al-Monitor that under the state of emergency (which was renewed April 1) the Palestinians are under lockdown, and travel is permitted only with permits. “While the [World Health Organization] has called for cooperation on all fronts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israelis pick and choose where and how to cooperate,” he said.
Milhem was referring to the fact that Israel allows Palestinian workers to return to Palestinian areas without coordinating with the Palestinian Ministry of Health. A number of confirmed coronavirus cases were discovered among those returning to the Palestinian areas.
