In Pictures
In pictures: Snow-covered Ramallah
Palestine’s de facto capital was battered by heavy snowfall, cutting many off from electricity for days.
The Palestinian territories have been hit by some of the worst weather conditions they have seen in decades. Many houses remain without electricity in East Jerusalem, and Gaza is facing a humanitarian disaster under mass flooding.
Within the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s Civil Defence forces have said Ramallah has been hardest hit, with more than 1,500 reported incidents involving more than 3,000 people. Many roads are still totally impassable and some areas of the city, such as al-Tireh, were without electricity under freezing conditions for three days, from Thursday to Saturday.
The snow has caused structural damage to many of the city’s buildings, and hundreds of trees have collapsed under the weight of the snow. By late Saturday afternoon, with parts of the al-Tireh neighbourhood still lacking electricity, the Civil Defence forces were bringing food and gas to those in particular need, and in some cases families were evacuated from their houses.