2 US Navy warships in Mideast hit by coronavirus outbreaks
Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been affected by the coronavirus, authorities said Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, with one already at port in Bahrain and another heading to port. Navy, via AP)DUBAI – Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been struck by coronavirus outbreaks, authorities said Friday, with both returning to port in Bahrain. A dozen troops aboard the USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, tested positive for COVID-19, said Cmdr. More than 1,000 sailors tested positive and one died. Earlier this month, three sailors tested positive as the aircraft carrier was conducting operations in the Pacific.
Palestinians in Gaza rally against Israel-UAE deal
(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)GAZA Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday rallied against the U.S.-brokered deal to normalize ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The demonstrators in Gaza City also voiced support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his rejection of President Donald Trump's Mideast plan, which the Palestinians say unfairly favors Israel. The protest was organized by the militant Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other factions. "Instead, it serves and promotes the occupation in its projects that target Palestine and the region.In the West Bank town of Turmusaya, several dozen Palestinians demonstrated against the UAE's deal with Israel, the Trump administration's Mideast plan and Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank. Protesters burned Israeli flags and threw stones at Israeli soldiers in the distance.
Palestinians say they made counterproposal to Trump plan
RAMALLAH RAMALLAH, West BankThe Palestinians said Tuesday they proposed a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem with one-to-one land exchanges with Israel as a counteroffer to President Donald Trump's Mideast plan. The Trump administration has chastised the Palestinians for rejecting its plan, which sides with Israel on all the most contentious issues in the decades-old conflict. Israel and the U.S. have long accused the Palestinians of failing to provide their own proposal. The Palestinians say their demands are rooted in international law and U.N. resolutions. That's a crucial source of income for the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank.