Police in Ramallah have arrested a woman accused of shouting “corona, corona” at, and assaulting, a Japanese aid worker, in an incident connected to fears over the novel coronavirus.
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon, involving a Palestinian woman, her daughter and two Japanese aid workers.
In security camera footage, a Japanese woman can be seen holding a phone up, as if filming, as the Palestinian woman shouts “corona, corona”.
The footage then shows the Palestinian woman shoving the Japanese aid worker in the chest before a second Japanese woman intervenes.
In an interview with Wattan News Agency, the Japanese aid worker who was attacked, said “a woman came to me and attacked me, pulled my hair and pushed me”.
The Palestinian women was arrested by police on Sunday night, on suspicion of assault.
The spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior Brigadier Dr Ghassan Nimer denounced the attack, adding that the event was unique and “does not represent the morals and traditions of the Palestinian people and culture”, nor does it “represent customs and traditions in respecting the guests of Palestine”.
Ah yes, that much vaunted tradition of respecting guests.
Of course, had the woman had coronavirus, getting in her face is probably not the smartest move. Then again, you can’t accuse many palestinians of not being self-destructive.