President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday slammed the government over its handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Israel in the past few weeks has seen a resurgence of COVID-19 with the number of new daily cases reaching 1,300 this week, for the first time since the start of the epidemic in the country.
The president, in rare public criticism, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "hasn't developed a clear and coherent doctrine in the battle against the virus."
Rivlin said the health crisis has prompted Israel's political parties to reach an agreement and end a political deadlock, however, "we do not have a single body that is at the center of collecting information, fighting, controlling and having a discourse with the public," he said.
The president called on the government to treat the fight against the virus as a matter of national security and to conduct the campaign accordingly, with full transparency vis-a-vis the public and the Knesset.
"There is no room for political calculations by the Defense Ministry with regards to its position against the Health Ministry," he said. "The reins of power [over the crisis] must be given by the body that can bring the best result, with other ministries assisting and subordinating."
He added that restoring the economy and trust between the government and the public are also matters of national security.