PHOTO: Jordanian soldiers keep watch over citizens lined up to receive bread handouts from the government.

Many Arab countries in the Middle East are partially bankrupt, they don’t have the capacity to handle an epidemic of these proportions. Moreover, the question arises: Who would rush to their aid in an emergency and throw them a lifeline? The Corona crisis has caught the Middle East completely unprepared. Israel is tracking developments in the neighboring Arab countries.

Even before the virus broke out Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab admitted that his country would no longer be able to pay back its enormous debts. Israel’s neighbor to the north is bankrupt.

To the south of Israel, Egypt exceeded its 100 million population quota a few weeks ago. The cabinet in Cairo declared that it is on high alert as a result of the population growth. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has defined the population explosion in language usually reserved for terrorist threats.

Meanwhile, Iraq is finding itself already in the midst of a dangerous economic crisis and the people are protesting...