* 63% of the Palestinians approve that fines and sanctions should be obligated on all citizens to wearing masks and gloves.
* 74% of the Palestinians believe that financial penalties will help in obligating citizens to wearing masks and gloves in open places and to keep social distancing with others.
* 54% of the Palestinians think that the security agencies do not implement these violations.
* Concerning the government actions, 62% of participants see that the Palestinian government is doing a good job in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Research Center in Arab American University prepared a study about the knowledge of the Palestinians in the sanction system and the governmental procedures on citizens’ practices concerning COVID-19.
The study was prepared based on data collected from people via phone calls’ poll for a random sample of 1348 person of over 18 years old from all over the West Bank (50% of the sample were males and 50% females). Data was collected between Aug. 27th, 2020 and Sep. 3rd, 2020.
Penalties System and Governmental Procedures and the Relation to Citizens’ Opinions
The Study showed that 74% of the participants think that the financial penalties will obligate people to wear masks and gloves while being in public places, and to keep social distancing as well. Also 63% of the Palestinians (62% males and 65% females) approve that penalties and fines should be imposed on citizens.
About the knowledge of people about the companies and stores’ violations and penalties, results showed that 79% of Palestinians (83% males and 75% females) know the penalties on companies and stores that do not commit to safety procedures, some of which are the financial penalties of no less than 100 JD and no more that 500 JD, in addition to the full closure to the place for a whole week dated from the penalty date. However 21% (17% males and 25% females) do not know about these sanctions.
About the imposing of penalties over companies and stores, 68% of the sample (67% males and 68% females) approve that there should be a penalty on people who do not wear masks or gloves, while 16% (16% males and 15% females) think that this should be on masks only, and 17% (17% males and 16% females) see that this penalty should not be imposed at all.
And about imposing penalties over companies and stores which do not apply the safety measures, 85% of sample (84% males and 86% females) said that implementing this law will obligate them to apply the safety procedures.
Citizens Awareness of the Penalties over an Institution or a Company or a Store or any Service Providers
And about people’s knowledge of the penalties on the public transportation companies which do not follow the safety and health protocols, the results showed that 83% of the participants (87% males and 79% females) ensured that they know the penalty that includes the financial fine of no less than 50 JD and no more than 100 JD with a license withdrawal for 1 week. Moreover, about if they agree on such penalties, 69% (68% males and 70% females) said that they approve that there should be a penalty on not wearing masks or gloves, while 17% (17% males and 16% females) think that this should be on masks only, and 14% see that this penalty should not be imposed equally between males and females.
And about if citizens believe that sanctions would obligate public transportation companies to impose the safety measures, 87% of participants (87% males and 86% females) said that they think so, while 13% assured that this will not happen.
Furthermore, 77% of participants (78% males and 76% females) think that the government was able to clarify the penalties, while 21% especially males (24% males and 17% females) said that they will not commit even if they were fined and that they can get rid of the fine through their relations.
Results showed the Awareness of Participants and their Commitment to the Safety Measures to Prevent the Emerging COVID-19
About the citizens’ commitment to the safety precautions to prevent the emerging COVID-19, 85% of participants (89% females and 81% males) said that they keep social distancing, 82% of the participants (85% females and 78% males) are committed to not going to condolences. And about not participating in wedding parties, 80% of participants (85% females and 76% males) said that they do not go to weddings anymore.
When participants were asked about wearing masks, 79% of them (84% females and 74% males) said that they wear masks when they go out of their homes, and about sterilizing things they buy, 54% of them (59% females and 50% males) said that they still do it. And about wearing gloves outside, 30% (29% females and 30% males) said that they wear gloves when they go out their homes.
When we asked about how citizens are committed to the government procedures to prevent the emerging COVID-19 in their neighborhood, 61% (60% males and 61% females) said that there is no commitment to any of the procedures, while 39% said that there are committed.
Also the study showed that 93% of participants assured that they put spare masks and sanitizers in their bags or cars or houses or offices, as the percentage was 96% females and 91% males.
Moreover, 90% of participants (90% males and 91% females) said that they are committed to wearing masks as they feel it is their personal responsibility to do so, while 23% of which (25% males and 22% females) said that they wear masks because they fear from the penalty..
Participants Awareness and Commitment to the Safety Protocols Concerning COVID-19
About the mechanism of managing the situation by the Palestinian government, 62% assured that the government is doing a good job, while 56% of participants (53% males and 60% females) think that the government should not rely on peoples’ awareness to prevent the emerging disease, and 44% (48% males and 41% females) see that the government could rely on peoples’ awareness.
The study also showed that females’ commitment to the safety measures is higher than males’ commitment in general.