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Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas have been particularly worried about the spread of the virus from Israel (despite the fact that the first cases of the coronavirus, and some later ones, came from people who arrived in the PA territories from abroad, not from Israel). The variety of preventive measures taken so far, including the closing of the crossings to Israel, have helped the PA and Hamas retain a certain amount of control over the spread of the disease – on the assumption that the data they release about the number of patients are exact (it is possible that there are undetected coronavirus patients in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria about whom there is no information because there has been no methodical testing).
In ITIC assessment the PA and Hamas are aware that the current situation is liable to change and they may lose control of the spread of the disease. The danger is particularly great in the Gaza Strip because of the crowding in the refugee camps, poor hygiene and the lack of medical equipment necessary to treat coronavirus patients (according to ITIC information, there are about 205 ventilators in the PA and about 85 in the Gaza Strip). Another possible consequence of the uncontrolled spread of coronavirus is the risk it may spread into Israel from the PA territories and the Gaza Strip.
