More than 63,000 people, among them 49,000 Palestinian workers, crossed through checkpoints from the West Bank to Israel proper today, marking a return to the status quo for the first time since the coronavirus crisis began in mid-March, announces the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) in a video on their Facebook page.
This was the first time that checkpoints allowed the daily flow of Palestinian workers into and out of Israel since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, COGAT says.
Palestinian workers have largely been banned from entering Israel since the beginning of the crisis, although crossings opened temporarily to allow workers in some essential sectors to enter the country in early May. The workers were then obligated to remain in Israel for at least three weeks.
With loosening of restrictions in both Israel and the West Bank, workers are now permitted to enter and leave Israel on a daily basis, without being subject to a quarantine in Israel, COGAT announced on Thursday.
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Sunday, May 31, 2020
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