City residents doubt govt response to new outbreak

Описание: (17 Jun 2020) LEAD IN:
Israel is seeing a new spike in coronavirus cases, with many of the newly infected people being in the ancient Arab port city of Jaffa.
Many of the area's residents are of Palestinian origin and, after years of tensions, are sceptical of the Israeli government's response to the outbreak.

STORY-LINE:
The picturesque and serene views of Old Jaffa betray a needling concern felt here under the surface.
COVID-19 is rearing its head again in Israel, with a new bunch of cases stemming from this ancient city.
Israel managed for most of last month to keep its new infections per day in the low dozens.
But after reopening schools, beaches and restaurants it is facing a resurgence of the virus and now counts nearly 200 new cases a day.
Many of those are from Jaffa.
"What we are seeing now is an outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in the Arab population in Yafa (Jaffa) for two reasons. First of all because it's a dense community," says Abed Abou Shhadeh, a Tel Aviv city councillor.
The second reason, he says, is that Jaffa has "conservative communities that have religious ceremonies, big gatherings and so on, it's much easier for the virus to spread and infect many people."
But Abou Shhadeh says Israeli authorities are not properly addressing the unique needs of the community in Jaffa.
He said imposing a lockdown on the area, a measure under consideration now, will only flare up tensions with the community at a time when they are already high.
Israel now has more than 19,000 cases and just over 300 deaths since the outbreak began.
The outbreak in Jaffa coincides with protests against a municipal plan to build a homeless shelter over an out-of-use Muslim cemetery.
The protests grew violent and protesters accused police of using excessive force.
That has plunged ties between the Arab residents and Israeli authorities to new lows.
Jaffa Arab residents would think that authorities "want to quarantine Yafa because of the demonstration, which only adds fuel to the fire," explains Abou Shhadeh.
Residents of Jaffa have long complained of neglect at the hands of Israeli authorities.
While they live in the country's economic hub, many feel left behind economically and say their part of the city lags behind mostly Jewish Tel Aviv in terms of public investment in education and social services.
What's more, the area is seeing creeping gentrification which is pushing up housing prices for locals.
In a statement, Tel Aviv municipality said it was the government's decision whether to impose a lockdown.
The Israeli Health Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jaffa resident Abu Din says he would view any lockdown with scepticism.
"I thought actually that they were planning to do this lockdown because of the coronavirus, but it isn't the coronavirus. It's to control the streets and calm the streets down, you see? And the police here in Jaffa is exploiting it to its advantage," he says.
Still, residents and those who work here are concerned about the rising cases.
Many people earn their income off tourists and the bustling nightlife in the city's flea market, which could be affected if the virus spreads more.
Sami Mansour, who drives from Nazareth every day to work in a Jaffa café, says a lockdown would strip him of his livelihood.
But he says so long as he was cautious he didn't fear for his health.
"We all die. 100% of people die. With the coronavirus, just 1% will die. We believe in our faith. But we must be cautious and we are cautious. And the rest is up to God," Mansour says.

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