JERUSALEM (AP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would close its international airport for close flights as the government struggles to bring a coronavirus outbreak under control.
The entry of highly contagious variants of coronavirus, along with poor application of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, has contributed to one of the highest infection rates in the world. He also threatened to undermine Israel’s successful campaign to vaccinate its population against the virus.
Late Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved what Netanyahu said would be a tight closure of incoming and outgoing air traffic. The government has said it will make exceptions for a small number of humanitarian cases, such as funerals and medical patients and cargo flights.
“We are closing the sky tightly, with very few exceptions, to prevent viral mutations from entering and also to ensure that we make rapid progress with our vaccination campaign,” Netanyahu said.
The order will start early on Tuesday and will remain in force until January 31. Netanyahu’s office said the order still needed to finalize parliamentary legislation.
During the pandemic, Israel restricted entry to its main international airport. But he made exceptions for certain categories of people, including religious and Israeli students returning from abroad, while allowing Israeli tourists to fly to a handful of “green countries.” This limited air travel appears to allow highly contagious coronavirus variants from the UK and elsewhere to enter the country.
The Israeli Ministry of Health has registered over 595,000 cases of the virus since the beginning of the pandemic and over 4,361 deaths. New cases of the disease continue to rise, even though the country has launched one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world and is in the middle of the third nationwide deadlock.
The Israeli authorities have worked to enforce compliance in ultra-Orthodox communities. On Sunday, religious protesters clashed with police in several cities.
During the pandemic, many major ultra-Orthodox sects violated safety regulations, continuing to open schools, pray in synagogues and hold mass weddings at funerals. This has contributed to a disproportionate infection rate, with the ultra-Orthodox community accounting for over a third of Israel’s coronavirus cases, despite accounting for just over 10% of the population.
In Jerusalem, police fired tear gas and rotten water to disperse hundreds of ultra-Orthodox residents outside a reopened school. Protesters shouted “get out of here, Nazis” to officers who were filmed arresting participants.
In the coastal city of Ashdod, police fought dozens of protesters in front of an ultra-Orthodox school. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, large crowds of protesters drove out journalists. A policeman fired into the air while surrounded by a crowd of protesters.
Five police officers were injured in the dispute and at least four people were arrested, police said.
As the country faces a coronavirus outbreak, the Israeli government last week extended the country’s third nationwide blockade until the end of January.
Sunday’s clashes were the latest incident of heightened tensions over the blockade in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. On Friday, ultra-Orthodox Israelis attacked a police vehicle in the city of Bnei Brak, outside Tel Aviv. A lot of people threw stones at the police car and punctured its tires.