The coronavirus cabinet is leaning towards sustaining Israel's current closure until October 18, after five hours of debate on the issue on Monday night. No final decision was made, however.
The cabinet heard from National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat and other expert advisers, who warned that the number of new infections cannot be reliably determined due to the significantly smaller number of virus tests conducted during the High Holidays that end on Saturday night.
Finance Minister Israel Katz and all ministers from the Blue & White party called at the meeting for the immediate reopening of all businesses that do not interact with the public and the resumption of school for children up to the age of 6.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who is not a member of the coronavirus cabinet, opposed this position, with Netanyahu saying that there would be no decisions on any easing measures before next week.
The issue of public protests, which are currently restricted under legislation hastily passed last week, sparked argument in the meeting, with Likud's Transportation Minister Miri Regev branding the anti-Netanyahu protesters as "anarchists" and "disease spreaders."
Blue & White ministers Avi Nissenkorn and Meirav Cohen hit back furiously, while their party leader Defense Minister Benny Gantz insisted that the demonstrations would resume as soon as the lockdown is lifted.
“As soon as the overall closure is over, we will return to the outline for demonstrations determined by the professionals and allow the protests [to resume]," he said.
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Police arresting a protester against Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Saturday night
(Photo: EPA)
The issue of limiting the primarily anti-Netanyahu protests has been a controversial one, with opposition lawmakers arguing that the restrictions are aimed at silencing the prime minister.
Ministers agreed that the government's immediate goal was to continue focusing on containment efforts and reducing the infection rate.
The government is set to convene Wednesday to approve a week-long extension of the closure regulations until October 14.