Update during Corona: Deir al Hatab - Palestinians adhere strictly to the emergency corona regulations

I telephoned A., our long-time acquaintance from Deir al Hatab, whom we met through Buma Anbar.  A. lives both in Deir al Hatab, west of Nablus, and in Nablus itself.  He laughs throughout the conversation, as usual.

Palestinians adhere strictly to the emergency corona regulations, and there are no cases in Deir al Hatab.  Don’t the grandparents visit their grandchildren?  No!  But there are 30-40 persons isolated in Nablus, who’d returned from abroad.  Thus far no positive cases have emerged. 

How do you obtain food?  He laughs.  Everyone has household supplies, that’s the advantage of living in a village as opposed to a town.  No one goes out – only he.  He’s got a “chit” (authorization from the Palestinian Authority) and travels to Tulkarm, Jenin, Ramallah and Jericho.  The Israeli army maintains a low profile in the Nablus region, and the settlers also keep to themselves.  He hardly sees their cars.  I told him we’d received difficult photos and reports from Burin.  Nothing’s happening now, he says.

At the end of our conversation, he asked about Buma, a peace activist engaged in a wide range of endeavors, with whom A. had worked on many humanitarian projects in the Nablus region.  A. lost his brother and got to know Buma, a bereaved father, through the Parents Circle Family Forum.

We agreed to keep in contact and wished each other well.