The government convened tonight (Sunday) to discuss extending the closure, which is due to end at midnight. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Ministry of Health are demanding that the closure be extended until next Sunday. On the other hand, in blue and white, they agree to extend the restrictions by only three days, and demand to begin the gradual opening of the economy this coming Thursday.
“The world itself has been attacked more strongly in the last two weeks by two mutations – the British mutation and the South African mutation,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of the meeting. “The daily mortality rate in the UK is three times that of Israel. Everyone who dies is a very big loss. The health care system in many countries is on the verge of collapse, and in Israel too our health care system is at maximum limb stretch. Therefore we closed the world first.”
“We are in a very close race to vaccinate as many Israeli citizens as possible in the face of the spread of the mutations,” Netanyahu added. “We can make this vaccine thanks to the millions of vaccines we have brought and we are bringing to Israel. I hope that if there are no more surprises, we will be able to open up our education and economy gradually.”
“I call on the last of the adults, those aged 50 and over: Come now and get vaccinated. You are the main cause of the serious illness, and I ask you to do it for your sake, for the sake of our health system and for all the citizens of Israel.”
Netanyahu noted that the government will discuss extending the closure until Sunday and extending the border closure: “In the meantime, I want to keep the rules, we must keep the rules. Let it be clear – a gathering is a gathering is a gathering. It does not matter if it is ultra-Orthodox, secular or Arab. There are gatherings on all sides and in all these publics. It should be stopped immediately, and politics should be stopped, focus on violations of one public and ignore violations of other publics – everyone should stop. It is time for unity. “In every sector and everywhere.”
During the meeting, a confrontation erupted between Netanyahu and Ganz, who said that the closure comes at an economic, social and health cost, and cannot be continued for a long time. While Netanyahu said the closure still exists despite the many violations, Ganz argued it was ineffective. In response to his demand to present a presentation on the negative impact of the closures on life expectancy, Netanyahu said: “Let’s move forward and maybe you can run with it.” Ganz reacted angrily: “You are not doing me a favor, you will do the right thing – just present it.”
At a meeting of blue-and-white ministers, which took place before the government debate, the demand arose to partially open trade as early as Thursday. “On the way to Tel Aviv, I drove through the streets of Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan, and the reality is that everything is open,” Ganz said. “We need to continue the closure for a few more days and prepare for a wide opening from Thursday – including all trade in green and yellow cities. We need to see what happens on the ground, this is not New Zealand. If there is no actual closure – we need to prepare for an orderly opening and equal enforcement.”
Earlier today, the Knesset plenum approved on second and third reading the bill to increase fines for violating corona restrictions from NIS 5,000 to NIS 10,000. In a plenary speech, Ganz said he would demand that the government return to the traffic light model and open up the economy gradually and differentially, depending on the levels of morbidity and immunization in the localities. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein rejected his remarks: “In the current disease situation, there is no way in the world to switch to differential management. Only 9% of the localities are green, most of them have no school at all.”
Edelstein clarified that the government will have two options: “One – to extend the closure, the other – to open everything. I will not play games. Ten days ago we asked for a closure for two weeks. Why did we go through the uncertainty of the last few days? “Why? I do not know. Tonight the government will have to decide between the two options. If someone does not like it – they will take responsibility once. We will open the whole economy and see the results, speaking of those who say the closure is unnecessary and does not work.”