Four universities in California held lengthy sessions over the past week as their student senates considered divesting from companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, while students at the University of South Florida submitted the largest petition in the university’s history calling on the university to divest. Also taking on a major role in the divestment campaign is the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where graduate students recently passed a resolution which calls for the divestment from companies profiting from violations in both occupied Palestine and at the US-Mexico border. The University of California (UC) Santa Barbara, UC Riverside and San Diego State held simultaneous student senate sessions, last Wednesday, to consider resolutions to divest. The sessions lasted into the night, and the votes were close at all three schools. UC Riverside voted in favor of divestment, while the other two schools voted down the resolution, in very close votes. When
Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible