Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday that he believes the military should take over to stop the spread of COVID-19, changing the responsibilities of the health ministry.
“This virus will not leave us for an entire year. Therefore, there must be a change in administration,” Ashkenazi told local publication Ynet News on Tuesday. “Put the ego aside … I tell Bibi this [Netanyahu]. … I am saying that we must shift responsibility to the defense establishment. “
Ashkenazi of the Blue and White Party, led by Alternative Prime Minister Benny Ganzt, also said he expects a decision “this week” on the responsibilities of transferring the coronavirus to the Interior Front Command.
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Israel, once an example of how to contain the spread of COVID-19, reopened its economy in May and eased the blockade measures.
The Middle Eastern country is now seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases with more than 53,000 cases reported so far and 424 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeing a decrease in his approval rating, which has fallen below 30 percent as unemployment rose to more than 20 percent, the local Tel Aviv publication reported.
The Interior Front Command, an Israeli defense unit similar to the U.S. National Guard, reportedly assisted in food distribution and evacuations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Benny Ganzt, the alternate prime minister and former head of the Israel Defense Forces, has reportedly lobbied for the Command to take over trace and evidence of contacts, a move Ashkenazi also supports.
But Netanyhu, a member of the Likud party, is unlikely to grant the measure that could empower the alternative prime minister as the PMs already disagree with the annexation of the West Bank.
Likud deputy health minister Yoav Kish lobbied against the call for the military to monitor its 9 million citizens.
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“You understand what it would mean for soldiers to start questioning people with, ‘What have you been doing, who have you been meeting with?'” Kish told Army Radio.
“This is a super sensitive issue, a health problem … There is no element of the ego here,” he said, calling the current cooperation between the ministry of health and the military “excellent.”
