ZCZC
BFF-28
HEALTH-VIRUS-ISRAEL
Israel extends nationwide coronavirus lockdown
JERUSALEM, Feb 1, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Israel’s nationwide lockdown was
extended Monday to contain the coronavirus which has continued to spread
rapidly as the country presses ahead with an aggressive vaccination campaign.
The current lockdown, declared on December 27, is the third in the Jewish
state since pandemic began last year.
The cabinet prolonged the closure until Friday morning, but scheduled a
fresh meeting for Wednesday to assess whether a further extension was
required, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the health
ministry said.
With Israel, a country of about 9 million people, still regularly
registering more than 5,000 new cases per day, Netanyahu had pushed for the
lockdown’s extension.
His political opponents said they would only agree if fines were increased
for rule violators.
Netanyahu’s critics have particularly highlighted persistent violations
among Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, the premier’s key political allies who
have repeatedly disregarded public safety measures throughout the pandemic.
Hours before the cabinet approved the extension, thousands of ultra-
Orthodox, many not wearing masks, flouted bans on large public gatherings by
packing the streets of a Jerusalem neighbourhood for the funeral of a top
rabbi while police looked on.
Defence Minister Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s rival in Israel’s caretaker
government, said “this is what unequal enforcement looks like”, pledging an
end to the “indulgence” of an ultra-Orthodox community that has defied the
rules.
Israel is heading to the polls again in March, the country’s fourth vote
in less than two years. Most political experts agree Netanyahu has no path to
extend his record 11 years in power without backing from the main ultra-
Orthodox parties.
– Flight ban –
Israel’s lockdown also includes an unprecedented airport and border
closure, which Netanyahu has described as a necessary weapon in the “arms
race” against coronavirus variants.
The cabinet has extended the ban on commercial flights imposed last month
until February 7. Road crossings to Egypt and Jordan will also remain closed.
Israel is attempting to repatriate nationals stuck abroad by the
commercial flight shut down, but said Monday that those brought back to the
country over the next week must quarantine in government-chosen hotels.
Israel has registered nearly 620,000 coronavirus cases, including more
than 4,500 deaths. It has also given at least one of the required of two
Pfizer-made jabs to more than three million people, a pace widely described
as the world’s fastest per capita.
Israel hopes to vaccinate its entire over-16 population by the end of
March.
The Jewish state has also come under mounting international pressure to
facilitate vaccinations for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, an Israel-blockaded territory controlled by Hamas Islamists.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1526 hrs