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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will close its international airport to nearly all flights as the government scrambles to control a coronavirus outbreak.
The entry of highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, coupled with poor enforcement of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, has contributed to one of the highest infection rates in the world. It has also threatened to undermine Israel’s successful campaign to vaccinate its population against the virus.
On Sunday night, the Israeli cabinet approved what Netanyahu said would be a strict shutdown of inbound and outbound air traffic. The government said it would make exceptions for a small number of humanitarian cases, such as funerals and medical patients, and cargo flights.
“We are closing the skies tightly, with really rare exceptions, to prevent the entry of virus mutations and also to make sure that we move quickly with our vaccination campaign,” Netanyahu said.
Ariel Schalit / AP
Passengers in the departure lounge of Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel. The airport will be closed to almost all flights.
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The order must start early Tuesday and will remain in effect until January 31. Netanyahu’s office said the order still requires parliamentary legislation to be finalized.
During the pandemic, Israel has restricted entry to its main international airport. But it has made exceptions for certain categories of people, including religious students and Israelis returning from abroad, while allowing Israeli tourists to fly to a handful of “green countries.” This limited air travel appears to allow highly contagious variants of the coronavirus from the UK and elsewhere to enter the country.
Israel’s Ministry of Health has recorded more than 595,000 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic and more than 4,361 deaths. New cases of the disease continue to rise, even as the country has launched one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world and is in the midst of its third national lockdown.
Israeli authorities have struggled to enforce compliance in ultra-Orthodox communities. On Sunday, religious protesters clashed with police in several cities.
Ariel Schalit / AP
During the pandemic, Israel has restricted entry into its main international airport.
Throughout the pandemic, many major ultra-Orthodox sects disobeyed safety regulations and continued to open schools, pray in synagogues, and celebrate mass weddings at funerals. This has contributed to a disproportionate infection rate, with the ultra-Orthodox community accounting for more than a third of Israel’s coronavirus cases, despite accounting for just over 10 percent of the population.
In Jerusalem, police fired tear gas and putrid-smelling water to disperse a crowd of hundreds of ultra-Orthodox residents in front of a reopened school. The protesters shouted “get out of here, Nazis” to the officers who were filmed arresting the participants.
Oded Balilty / AP
Ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed with Israeli police officers in Bnei Brak.
In the coastal city of Ashdod, police clashed with dozens of protesters outside an ultra-Orthodox school. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, large crowds of protesters chased away journalists. A policeman fired into the air while surrounded by a crowd of protesters.
Five police officers were injured in the disputes and at least four people were arrested, police said.
With the country experiencing a coronavirus outbreak, the Israeli government last week extended the country’s third national lockdown until the end of January.
Sunday’s clashes were the latest incident to escalate tensions over the enforcement of closure rules in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. On Friday, ultra-Orthodox Israelis attacked a police vehicle in the city of Bnei Brak, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. A crowd threw stones at the police car and punctured its tires.
