meeting on Coronavirus preparations
meeting on Coronavirus preparationsDefense Minister spokesperson

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett decided Monday not to order a full closure of areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was made during a status assessment meeting attended by Construction and Housing Minister Dr. Yifat Shasha Biton, Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen, Deputy Defense Minister Avi Dichter, the Deputy Chief of Staff, as well as additional representatives from the defense, finance, and economy ministries.

The Defense Minister instructed the Defense Ministry to assist the Health Ministry in procuring medical and sanitation equipment, with emphasis on mobile cleansing means, along with assistance in air supplies of the equipment from abroad, and continuing research and development (R&D) efforts to examine the spread of the virus and formulating measures to counteract it.

In addition, the Minister was presented with various scenarios in which the crisis could be exacerbated and the manner in which they would be managed by the defense establishment if necessary.

In accordance with the recommendation of all the parties, it was decided that at this stage no blanket closure would be imposed on the territories of the Palestinian Authority. The Defense Minister has confirmed that the current closure will expire at the end of the Purim holiday, Thursday morning, subject to an up-to-date assessment. At the same time, the closure of the area of the city of Bethlehem will continue.

In addition, the defense minister instructed the Coodinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to formulate a differentiation model between the PA populations to which the closure will be imposed, in order to prevent significant damage to the Israeli and PA economy, according to the following parameters:

- The extent of human contact with the general public
- The economic effect of the closure on the same group
- Means for dealing with those same populations under non-closure conditions