JERUSALEM (AP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will close its international airport for near flights while the government runs to control the coronavirus outbreak.
The entry of highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, coupled with poor enforcement of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, contributed to one of the highest infection rates in the world. It also threatened to undermine Israel’s highly successful campaign to vaccinate its population against the virus.
At the end of Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved what Netanyahu said would be a tight closure on incoming and outgoing 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, except on rare exceptions, to prevent the entry of viral mutations and also to ensure that we move forward quickly in our vaccination campaign,” said Netanyahu.
The order is due to start on Tuesday and remain in effect until January 31. Netanyahu’s office said the order still required parliamentary legislation to be finalized.
During the pandemic, Israel restricted entry to its main international airport. But it has made exceptions for certain categories of people, including religious and Israeli students returning from abroad, while allowing Israeli tourists to fly to a handful of “green countries”. These limited air travels seem to allow highly contagious variants of coronavirus from the UK and elsewhere to enter the country.
The Israeli Ministry of Health has recorded more than 595,000 cases of the virus since the pandemic began and more than 4,361 deaths. New cases of the disease continue to increase, even as the country launches one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world and amid the third national blockade.
Israeli authorities have struggled to enforce the law in ultra-Orthodox communities. On Sunday, religious protesters clashed with police in several cities.
During the pandemic, many leading ultra-Orthodox sects disregarded security regulations, continuing to open schools, pray in synagogues and hold mass weddings at funerals. This contributed to a disproportionate infection rate, with the ultra-Orthodox community accounting for more than a third of Israel’s coronavirus cases, despite representing just over 10% of the population.
In Jerusalem, police released tear gas and putrid-smelling water to disperse a crowd of hundreds of ultra-Orthodox residents outside a reopened school. Protesters shouted “get out of here, Nazis” at the police who were filmed arresting participants.
In the coastal town of Ashdod, police fought with dozens of protesters outside an ultra-Orthodox school. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, large crowds of protesters expelled journalists. A police officer shot into the air as he was surrounded by a crowd of protesters.
Five policemen were injured in the disputes and at least four people were arrested, the police said.
With the country experiencing a coronavirus outbreak, the Israeli government last week extended the country’s third national blockade until the end of January.
Sunday’s clashes were the latest incident of heightened tensions over the application of blockade rules in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel. On Friday, ultra-Orthodox Israelis attacked a police vehicle in the city of Bnei Brak, just outside Tel Aviv. A crowd threw stones at the police car and punctured its tires.