WATCH: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting (English captions available)
Full remarks >>
go.gov.il/cabinet2806EN
Full remarks >>
go.gov.il/cabinet2806EN
PM Netanyahu: “The pandemic is raising its head around the world. We have passed the threshold of ten million infected people and 500,000 dead. I do not know if this is the second wave; I do know that this is a rising wave.
Many countries that lifted the restrictions, upon a lessening of the disease, are now being compelled to re-impose the restrictions in order to block the spread.
We have seen in other places that this is not a health or economic issue because a severe blow to health is also a very severe blow to the economy.
We have also been compelled to take actions.
We have also been compelled to take actions.
I likened our policy, when we opened up the economy upon a lessening of the disease, to an accordion policy. You open it and if you see the disease returning and spreading – you tighten it.
This is not a zigzag; it is the policy of any sane country and it is also how we will act
This is not a zigzag; it is the policy of any sane country and it is also how we will act
Therefore, in light of the increased spread, today in the Corona Cabinet, we will discuss restrictions on gatherings alongside steps to increase enforcement and the steps that we are taking to make severing the chain of infection more efficient.
Alongside this, the Finance Ministry has been asked to render immediate assistance to sectors that have been hurt and – of course – see to the transfer of the funds that we have allocated, considerable funds that must reach the public, including the unemployed.
If we succeed with health we will succeed with the economy. It is my intention we succeed with both. This requires determined action which is not always simple but is required at this time. We will take action regarding health & the economy and with G-d’s help will be victorious.
Prime Minister Netanyahu added:
“The freedom to demonstrate is not on the agenda. At the most difficult times vis-a-vis the coronavirus, amidst the tightest shutdowns, we allowed it. The claim that we are moving to restrict it is absurd and has no place.
“The freedom to demonstrate is not on the agenda. At the most difficult times vis-a-vis the coronavirus, amidst the tightest shutdowns, we allowed it. The claim that we are moving to restrict it is absurd and has no place.
Alongside this, the rules and the law in the State of Israel must be maintained. It is not the prerogative of one side to decide it supports the rule of law and trample it at other times. I do not get involved in police decisions.
As citizens, from a law-and-order perspective, I think that we need to do what they say. The condemnation of offenders – lawbreakers and demonstrators that overstep – must be equal on all sides of the political map.
