GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Slumped in a hospital bed, his face obscured by an oxygen mask in an intensive care unit for coronavirus patients in the Gaza Strip, Hussein al-Hajj said he wanted to talk.
“Vaccinations are essential, but I’m going to have to survive the virus before getting vaccinated,” the 71-year-old retired Palestinian teacher told the Media through strained breaths.
In Gaza, a Palestinian territory under strict Israeli blockade since 2007, the pandemic has been defined by contrast.
Through its early months roughly a year ago, the enclave’s Hamas Islamist rulers largely succeeded in limiting significant viral spread.
Access to Gaza was already restricted through Israeli and Egyptian controlled crossings, and Hamas imposed strict quarantines on everyone who sought entry.
But in August the first cases were recorded outside quarantine centres, raising fears of catastrophe given Gaza’s weak health infrastructure.
Now, as Israel broadly re-opens thanks to a world-leading vaccination effort, Gaza’s vulnerable health system is overwhelmed.
Hajj was admitted to a Turkish funded hospital, built in 2017 on land where polluted stagnant water often pools, which was previously used as a training ground for Hamas’s armed wing.
The white-haired Hajj was among a group of mostly elderly, male patients curled up on beds and intubated under the care of an overstretched medical team.
“My wife and I contracted corona. She stayed in quarantine at home, but I have lung problems, so first I was brought to the hospital, then here,” he said in a whisper, referring to the makeshift ICU.
“It’s a question of life and death. Things can deteriorate at any moment.” It may be recalled that 100 Palestinians and 20 Israeli police were wounded in overnight clashes in annexed east Jerusalem, medics and police said Friday (23rd of April, 2021), as tensions mount over a police ban on gatherings and videos of attacks on youths.
The violence broke out outside one of the entrances to the walled Old City where far-right Jews had completed a march, during which participants harassed Palestinians and chanted “death to Arabs”.
There have been nightly disturbances in the area since the start of Ramadan on April 13 with Palestinians complaining that police were blocking access to the promenade around the walls, a popular gathering place for Palestinians after the end of the daytime Ramadan fast.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had treated at least 105 people, with some 20 of them hospitalized.
Israeli police said 20 officers were wounded, three of whom were taken to hospital.
They said “hundreds of rioters began disrupting the order violently including throwing stones and objects at forces” stationed near the Old City.
Tensions were high in Jerusalem after a series of videos posted in recent days showing young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews, with Jewish extremists taking to the street bullying Arabs in nightly confrontations.
On Thursday night, the Israeli extreme-right group Lehava organised a march ending opposite the Old City attended by hundreds to protest the anti-Jewish violence.
Videos on social media also showed Palestinians attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews in the early hours of Friday.
Police said more than 50 people detained overnight were taken for a remand hearing Friday morning.
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