Israel

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Israeli health officials reported a third death from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.

An Israeli male, 87, suffering from chronic disease died at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.

Earlier Tuesday, officials reported a second death when a 67-year-old woman, who had “a serious preexisting medical condition,” died at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Infections rose to 1,656 after 214 new cases were detected Tuesday, according to officials.

24 Mar 2020; MEMO: The Likud party and its allies “will continue to not participate in the proceedings of the Knesset and its committees on Tuesday”, reported The Jerusalem Post, “to protest Blue and White’s decision to form the committees without coordination with the Likud’s bloc”.

JERUSALEM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Supreme Court on Monday ordered the parliament to hold a vote for electing a new speaker, in a move widely seen as a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to hold on to power.

A three-justice panel criticized Parliament Speaker Yuli Edelstein, a Netanyahu ally, for shutting down parliament for five days and refusing to hold a vote to elect a new speaker.

The panel, headed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut, unanimously ruled that Edelstein must hold the vote no later than Wednesday.

23 Mar 2020; MEMO: Israel’s Public Prosecution Service has rejected a request to delay the detention of Sheikh Raed Salah who is due to go back into prison on 25 March, Arab48.com reported on Sunday.

The veteran Palestinian rights activist was given a 28-month prison sentence by the Magistrates’ Court in Haifa for remarks that he made at a funeral in 2017.

JERUSALEM, Mar 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – Israel’s Ministry of Health, reported the first COVID-19 death in the country, on Friday.

The patient, aged 88, suffered from many other diseases. He was in a serious condition, when admitted, at the hospital’s quarantined ward, a week ago.

During his hospitalisation, he underwent a cardiac event, said the ministry.

Earlier on Friday, the ministry said, a total of 705 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in Israel, so far.

JERUSALEM, Mar 21 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israel has decided to allow only 30 percent of workers to enter workplaces, in both business and public sectors, the state’s finance ministry announced.

The Israeli government has approved emergency regulations for this purpose.

The government has moved to an emergency mode, that will provide essential services, such as food, medicine and financial services.

The ministry noted that private businesses could remain open, if they follow current regulations.

19 Mar 2020; MEMO: Over the past 12 hours, more than 60,000 Israelis have registered to obtain unemployment benefits after losing their jobs, as a result of the decisions taken by the government to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. This brings the total number of people seeking financial support from the start of this month to 180,000.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday that 60,000 Israelis: “Have registered to obtain unemployment benefits.”

19 Mar 2020; MEMO: The leaders of Likud and the Blue and White party, Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz respectively, met on Wednesday night to discuss the formation of a unity government but were apparently unable to reach any agreement on the issue.

19 Mar 2020; MEMO: The ruling Likud party has submitted a bill for approval by the Knesset to annex the occupied Jordan Valley, the North Dead Sea area and the Hebron Desert, Israel Hayom reported on Wednesday. A second bill was also submitted which, if passed, would reintroduce the death penalty for Palestinian political prisoners.

JERUSALEM (AP) — With the Israeli government enacting a series of emergency measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing accusations that he is exploiting the crisis to entrench himself in power and undermining the country’s democratic foundations.