Israel will close its only major airport for one week in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus and halt emerging new variants.
The Washington Post reports that Israel’s cabinet on Sunday agreed to stop all incoming and outgoing Ben Gurion International airport until at least the end of January. Cargo flights, medical evacuations and “firefighting flights” will be exempt from the rule.
“No nation has done what we are going to do – we are sealing the country hermetically,” the Israeli prime minister said Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu MORE. “We are doing this to prevent the virus mutations and to make rapid progress with our vaccination campaign.”
The rule also applies to Jewish immigrants traveling under the law of return to the country, reports the Post.
The more contagious British variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Israel, reports the Post, contributing to Israel’s decision to shut itself off from the world. Another new tribe has been discovered that presumably originated in South Africa.
The Post notes that Israel excelled in administering doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, with 27 percent of the population receiving the first dose. However, the country received international condemnation for refusing to provide vaccinations to Palestinians in its occupied territories.
“Nothing can justify the current reality in parts of the West Bank, where people on one side of the street receive vaccinations while the other does not, based on whether they are Jewish or Palestinian,” Israel and Palestine said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) Omar Shakir in a statement.
“Everyone in the same area should have fair access to the vaccine, regardless of their ethnicity.”
Palestinian leaders have stated they do not have the funds to pay for coronavirus vaccinations. Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Israel was not responsible for providing vaccinations to Palestinians, but acknowledged that it was in Israel’s interest to do so. However, Edelstein stated that any vaccines supplied to Palestine would come after the population of Israel was vaccinated.