Palestinians and Israelis show peace is attainable with coordinated COVID-19 response From Al Arabiya: Palestinian and Israeli authorities are being praised by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), for maintaining “a close, unprecedented cooperation on efforts aimed at containing” the novel coronavirus. The collaboration has included regular meetings, Israeli training of Palestinian medical teams, and donation of testing kits and Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to the West Bank and Gaza. Like all other world governments facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel must have realized this threat cannot be held back by walls or checkpoints, but by making sure that Palestinians stay virus-free. The Palestinians, for their part, seem to have understood that their health depends on cooperating with the Israeli government. But old habits die hard. Perhaps Palestinian militant group Hamas felt ashamed of coordinating with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and of accepting Israeli testing kits and other aid. To save face, Hamas arrested Palestinian peace activists in Gaza for organizing an online conference call with Israeli proponents of peace. Hamas accused the Gazan activists of “normalization with Israel” and “treason.” https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2020/04/14/Palestinians-and-Israelis-show-peace-is-attainable-with-coordinated-COVID-19-response.html