JERUSALEM (AP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would close its international airport to almost all flights, while Israeli police clashed with ultra-Orthodox protesters in several major cities and chased the government into a raging coronavirus outbreak to bring under control.
The entry into highly contagious variants of the virus, coupled with the poor application of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, has contributed to one of the highest infection rates in the world. It also threatened to suppress Israel’s extremely successful campaign to vaccinate its population against the virus.
In just one month, Israel has vaccinated more than a quarter of its 9.2 million people. At the same time, the virus is sweeping the country, with authorities confirming an average of more than 8,000 new cases a day.
Late Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved a strict closure of almost all 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 hermetically shutting down the air, except for exceptional exceptions, to prevent virus mutations and also to progress rapidly with our vaccination campaign,” Netanyahu said.
The order is due to begin early Tuesday and remain in effect until January 31. Netanyahu’s office said the order still required the finalization of parliamentary legislation.
During the pandemic, Israel restricted access to most foreign airports for most foreigners. But it has made exceptions for certain categories of people, including religious students and Israelis returning from abroad, while Israeli tourists are allowed to fly to a handful of ‘green countries’, which are believed to be low on the coronavirus.
It appears that these restricted flights allowed highly contagious coronavirus variants from the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Israel. The Department of Health said Sunday that the first case has been detected of a new coronavirus variant discovered in the U.S. brought by a man who arrived from Los Angeles.
Experts believe that a lack of compliance with security regulations in the ultra-Orthodox sector of Israel was a major factor in the spread of the virus.
Israeli police were largely reluctant to confront the ultra-Orthodox community. Police on Sunday with a great multitude ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed in several cities, with an officer, the air in a city shot to keep a large crowd.
Throughout the pandemic, many large ultra-Orthodox sects disregarded safety regulations, continued to open schools, pray in synagogues, and hold mass weddings and funerals, despite broader lock-in orders. This has contributed to an excessive infection rate: the ultra-Orthodox community is responsible for more than a third of Israel’s cases of coronavirus, even though it accounts for just over 10% of the population.
Israel has recorded more than 595,000 cases of the virus and more than 4,361 deaths since the start of the pandemic. New cases continue to climb, even though the country has launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns and is in the midst of its third nationwide exclusion.
The worst unrest on Sunday took place in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, where large crowds of young men clashed with police and threatened journalists. At one point, a police officer pulled out his gun and fired into the air to retrieve a crowd.
In Jerusalem, police fired tear gas and bubbling water to disperse hundreds of ultra-Orthodox residents outside a reopened school. Protesters call police ‘Nazis’.
In the coastal city of Ashdod, police struggled with dozens of protesters outside an ultra-Orthodox school.
Five police officers were injured in the disputes and at least four people were arrested, police said.
“I expect all citizens of Israel to respect the security guidelines. That includes all sectors, including the ultra-Orthodox, “Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu, who is relying on ultra-Orthodox support in the upcoming national election, said the majority of the community has complied with safety guidelines. He attributes the latest problems to a small minority who act in an “unacceptable” way.
Sunday’s clashes were the latest incident of heightened tensions over enforcing lock-in rules in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel. On Friday, ultra-Orthodox Israelis attacked a police vehicle in the city of Bnei Brak, outside Tel Aviv.