President Mahmoud Abbas issued, on Thursday evening, a presidential decree declaring a state of emergency in all Palestinian territories for a month, starting from its date, to confront the Corona virus.
Following the issuance of the decree, Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh announced a series of measures to address the dangers of Corona (see below the decree).
The following is the text of the decree:
The President of the State of Palestine
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
In accordance with the articles of association of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the amended Basic Law of 2003 and its amendments, especially the provisions of Chapter Seven thereof, and based on the powers vested in us and to achieve the public interest, we have drawn the following:
1- Declaring a state of emergency in all Palestinian lands to confront the threat of the Coronavirus and prevent its spread.
2- The concerned authorities take all necessary measures to face the dangers resulting from the Corona virus, protect public health, and achieve security and stability.
3- This state of emergency is for 30 days.
4- The Prime Minister is empowered with the powers and powers necessary to achieve all the goals of this declaration.
All competent authorities, each within its jurisdiction, shall implement the provisions of this decree, and it shall enter into force from the date of its issuance and to be published in the Official Gazette.
Issued in the city of Ramallah on March 5, 2020
Mahmoud Abbas
The President of the State of Palestine
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
After President Abbas issued this decree, Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh announced a series of measures and decisions to address the risks of the disease, which are the following:
- All educational facilities such as schools, colleges, universities, kindergartens and others are closed.
- Employees of ministries and government institutions shall be in charge of their work until further instructions are issued.
- All doctors shall be at the head of their work in all medical facilities and take all precautions to protect our people and their safety.
- Movement between the governorates only in cases of extreme necessity, especially in the Bethlehem Governorate.
We study the closure of bridges and crossings between Palestine and the rest of the world when the need arises.
Any manifestations of gathering, gathering, celebrations, demonstrations and strikes in the entire territory of the State of Palestine are prohibited.
- The full potential of the private sector is put in place to support the emergency.
Merchants are prohibited from exploiting conditions, raising prices and monopolizing goods and commodities.
- Canceling all reservations for foreign tourists in public hotels.
Close all tourist and religious areas in front of the ministries.
Any national or international conferences in Palestine are canceled.
Each governor in his governorate is charged with implementing these procedures with the rest of the state’s competent organs in the governorates and forms follow-up committees from the agencies headed by the governor.
- Any media statements are prohibited from any official except those authorized by the Prime Minister, and we call on our people not to deal with any rumors and extract information only from its official sources.
- These procedures will be effective from Friday morning 06-03-2020 at 8 am.
- The security forces are deployed with all their equipment in all governorates, each according to the region in which they are assigned.
The duration of this state of emergency is 30 days, and it is considered a paid fee for all state agencies.
