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The decision to close again was announced Thursday. All non-essential stores and schools are expected to close.
The upcoming shutdown has drawn criticism and on Saturday night, protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.
The leader of the ultra-Orthodox party, Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, has resigned in protest at the cancellation of the Yom Kippur celebration.
Closed only in March
Israel closed the country for the first time in March with a ban on demonstrations and curfews during certain periods.
The country later managed to keep the infection under control, but it also resulted in high unemployment.
In May, schoolchildren were allowed to return to schools and gymnasiums, bars and cultural venues were reopened.
Since then, the number of infected people has increased considerably. More than 153,000 people are said to have been infected and 1,108 people have died from the virus.
Criticism at the close
The upcoming shutdown faces criticism, including from businessmen.
– At the beginning of the pandemic, we had 14,000 companies and 203,000 workers. Now we have 12,000 companies and 120,000 workers. If we are not presented with a coordinated and effective financial plan, it is not certain that we can open again, says Shay Berman, leader of the Jerusalem Post restaurant owners union.
In addition, criticism is directed at the fact that it is planned to close the entire country instead of focusing on the “red zones”, where the spread of the infection is great. The reason is said to be political, and the government is accused of not daring to lead the efforts because it is the ultra-Orthodox Jewish and Arab areas that are most affected by the spread of the infection, writes the Times Of Israel.
