Saudi Arabia gives $2.66 million to help Palestinian fight coronavirus

Saudi Arabia is giving $2.66 million to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to help them fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, a Kingdom’s envoy said on Monday. The decision is part of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Saudi Crown Prince to stand with the fraternal and friendly countries affected by this pandemic. According to State-run news agency, the program will see the provision of aid and supplied sent to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Palestine, worth more than 10 million Saudi riyals, including 12 categories of medical supplies and tools for personal protection.

“Naif Al-Sudairi, Saudi Ambassador to Jordan, and Saud al-Hazeem, Head of the KSrelief’s office in Jordan, signed the delivery shipment notes of first aid batches with CEO of the Palestinian National Fund Ramzi Khori at the Saudi Embassy in Jordan, in the presence of Palestinian Ambassador to Jordan Attallah Khairi,” Saudi Press Agency reports. The inauguration will take place in the presence of the director of the Palestinian National Fund Minister Ramzi Khoury, the Palestinian Ambassador to Jordan Atallah Khairy, and the director of the branch of KSrelief in Jordan Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Hazeem. The Saudi support aims at strengthening the capabilities of the Palestinian Ministry of Health to protect the Palestinian people and limit the spread of COVID-19.

“These directives embody the Kingdom’s noble humanitarian role and reflect its keenness to harness its capabilities and resources in the service of humanitarian causes.” Previously said Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSrelief, announcing the sign of six new contracts with specialized companies to provide medical support to Yemen and Palestine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Riyadh also allocated $25 million in aid to support the internationally recognized government of Yemen in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, on top of the $500 million dedicated to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen in 2020.

According to Worldometer, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza strip have recorded 353 cases and two deaths so far. In middle April, also the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, announced the USA donated $5M for Palestinian hospitals and households to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19. The move arrived after years of aid cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. “I’m very pleased the USA is providing $5M for Palestinian hospitals and households to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19,” Friedman wrote on Twitter. The Palestinians have boycotted Trump’s peace efforts since 2017, after he declared Jerusalem Israel’s capital and later moved the American embassy there from Tel Aviv. In January, Trump released his Middle East deal of the century, embraced by Israel but rejected out of hand by Palestinian people.