Ramadan’s Taraweeh prayers banned in Jordan mosques this year amid coronavirus fears

Amman municipality workers spray cars with sanitisers in the Jordanian capital on March 18, 2020 amidst measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. (File/AFP)
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Updated 15 April 2020
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Ramadan’s Taraweeh prayers banned in Jordan mosques this year amid coronavirus fears

  • The state will impose a curfew in the Kingdom for 48 hours starting April 17

DUBAI: Jordan’s awqaf ministry has announced that performing Taraweeh prayers in mosques will be banned during Ramadan this year, in a bid to help fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency Petra reported on Tuesday, citing the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammed Khalailah.
“We have been praying the obligatory prayers at homes and will pray the Taraweeh also at homes to exercise caution as we, along with the entire world, are facing a dangerous pandemic," Khalailah said.
He said the decision was “painful for us all, however, we need to keep ourselves and the homeland safe, for a higher purpose and a great goal and that is self-preservation which is one of the Sharia purposes.”
Meanwhile, the state will impose a curfew in the Kingdom for 48 hours starting April 17, until after midnight on Saturday, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said.
The full curfew excludes all medical professionals in both public and private sectors, epidemiological inspection teams, and some officials, employees, and workers in vital sectors, Adaileh added.
“We will also allow, as of next week, some production and service facilities to operate, according to strict measures for prevention and health care, with a minimum number of workers," Adaileh said.
The minister said the government will also announce the measures taken to support day workers, through the National Aid Fund, adding that the decisions include offering a cash subsidy to day workers who were affected by the curfew decision. The cash subsidy covers about 200,000 families.


Israel holds 9,500 Palestinian prisoners as of March

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Israel holds 9,500 Palestinian prisoners as of March

  • Administrative detainees represent 36 percent of all Palestinians in Israeli prisons

LONDON: Israeli prison authorities held 9,500 prisoners and detainees as of the first week of March, indicating a 2.15 percent increase from February, according to reports from Palestinian prisoners’ organizations.

Currently, there are 73 female prisoners and 350 individuals under the age of 18 detained in the notorious prisons of Megiddo and Ofer.

The number of administrative detainees is 3,442, the highest percentage among those sentenced, arrested, or classified as “unlawful combatants.” They represent 36 percent of all Palestinians in Israeli prisons, where individuals can be indefinitely detained without charge in military detention centers.

There are also 1,249 “unlawful combatants” detained from inside the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7, 2023, as well as those who were detained from Lebanon and Syria.