Israel Lockdown: Hundreds Protest Against Covid-19 Restrictions
Hundreds of Israelis protested Tuesday outside Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem against Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and a possible ban on demonstrations during the lockdown period for a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
A large convoy of cars clogged the streets surrounding the Knesset, and scores of people also demonstrated in a square outside the building as lawmakers debated a measure that would effectively clamp down on the weekly rallies against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his Jerusalem residence.
According to police, three demonstrators were arrested at the scene. The Israeli government imposed a second countrywide lockdown ahead of the Jewish High Holidays earlier this month in a bid to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Protests have been permitted, but influential ultra-Orthodox lawmakers have been angered over restrictions on prayers while the mass demonstrations have kept up.
The demonstrators have called on Netanyahu to resign, saying he is unfit to serve while on trial for corruption charges and accusing him of bungling his management of the coronavirus crisis and economic damage it has caused.
Netanyahu has said the protests must end due to public health concerns. But protesters say he is using the crisis as a pretext to muzzle them.
Israel announced the lockdown earlier this month and tightened it last week in response to one of the world’s most severe coronavirus outbreaks. The measures have closed schools, malls, restaurants and scores of businesses.
The lockdown was initially slated to be lifted on October 11, after the three-week autumn holiday season, but in a radio interview on Tuesday, Israel’s health minister said the nationwide shutdown would likely be extended.
Israel, a country of 9 million people, has recorded over 233,000 confirmed cases and over 1,500 deaths from the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to the Health Ministry.
The Health Ministry said Tuesday the country has for the first time surpassed the U.S., one of the world’s worst hit countries, in per capita daily coronavirus deaths.
While Israel garnered praise for its swift response to the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in March, the country’s reopened its economy too quickly in May and infections have skyrocketed since then.
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