Israel / Palestine Borders and the Impact of COVID-19

This short paper reviews the ways in which the Israeli government has managed the impact of COVID-19, with a special emphasis on the diverse border regimes—from the national to the personal. Israel has experienced two distinct phases of COVID-19, the first involving relatively low infection rates, jumping to high figures during a second phase. Two distinct borders are emphasized, the national airport through which ninety percent of travelers in and out of the country enter and which has been virtually closed down during most of the COVID-19 period, and the barriers operating between Israel and the West Bank, through which tens of thousands of Palestinian workers commute daily into Israel for employment, many of whom are now unable to work due to COVID-19 related restrictions on their movement across the border.