12 2GM Monday July 27 2020 | the times
News
Disillusionment with the Israeli gov-
ernment’s handling of the coronavirus
crisis has given renewed energy to pro-
tests against Binyamin Netanyahu,
posing a new threat to his leadership.
Israel erupts in anger at
leader’s failings on virus
Richard Spencer
Middle East Correspondent
Police in Israel have made a string of
arrests in a protest camp in Jerusalem
that has fuelled unrest, with complaints
against the prime minister’s handling of
the pandemic escalating into calls for
his resignation. His economic record
has been criticised and there is outrage
over the corruption charges he faces.Tamir Gay-Tsabary, 56, who travels
from south Israel to the protests in Jeru-
salem every day, said the coronavirus
renewed focus on Mr Netanyahu’s
leadership faults. “He just cares for
himself,” Mr Gay-Tsabary, a sales man-
ager, said.
Mr Netanyahu won praise for his ini-tial response to the virus. His govern-
ment’s quick decisions in March to im-
pose a lockdown took the daily case-
count to a trickle by early May.
However, the economic reopening that
began in late April has led to an explo-
sion in transmission, with daily tallies
of between 1,000 and 2,000 new cases
in recent weeks.
A protest outside the prime minister’s
residence in Jerusalem on Saturday,
which at one stage is estimated to have
comprised up to 10,000 people, was
eventually broken up in the early hours
of Sunday by water cannon. Earlier
other protesters gathered on motorway
bridges around the country, with fur-
ther demonstrations in Tel Aviv and, for
the first time, outside Mr Netanyahu’s
family home in the town of Caesarea.
Police reacted less aggressively than
they did last week, when their strong-
arm tactics alongside the use of water
cannon were attacked by opposition
politicians. They waited until two hours
after the deadline given for the end of
the rally outside the prime minister’s
residence before moving in, surround-
ing the remaining protesters and seiz-
ing the apparent ringleaders first.
Police said that they had made 12
arrests for alleged public order and
assault offences. Several of those de-
tained were Netanyahu supporters
who attacked protesters, with one re-
ceiving a small stab wound to the neck.
Mr Netanyahu, 70, was able to con-
tinue his record-breaking term of office
after indecisive March elections by sub-
mitting to a coalition with his main
rival, Benny Gantz. Since the boost to
his popularity from the successful ini-
tial response to the coronavirus, how-
ever, the improvement in his ratings
has reversed. The country is now seen
to have lifted lockdown too early.
Israel, which has a population of
about nine million, is in the top ten
countries for new infections per capita,
although it has registered fewer than
500 deaths in total.
Unemployment shot up as the coro-
navirus hit. As the economy has failed
to recover with the easing of lockdown
measures the government remains
caught between reimposing restric-
tions to halt the disease and fear of
exacerbating the situation. Unemploy-
ment has jumped to more than 20 per
cent, from about 3.9 per cent before the
outbreak. Anger has grown over the
government’s financial assistance
plans, which have been criticised for
providing a pittance or nothing at all.
Israel has since reimposed some re-
strictions.
Amir Ohana, the public security
minister, promised tougher action
against the protesters, pointing out that
it made little sense to allow demonstra-
tions while cracking down on other
public gatherings because of the coro-
navirus.
“Is the virus so smart that it can tell
the difference between gatherings for
those purposes and a demonstration?”
he said yesterday. “The answer is ‘No.’”
Meanwhile, preliminary hearings
have continued in Mr Netanyahu’s
court cases, in which he is accused of
accepting gifts from wealthy donors
and intervening over telecoms regula-
tion in return for favourable coverage
by a news website.
He rejects the court cases as a politi-
cally motivated coup by the “liberal”
judiciary, and has accused television
coverage of the protests as being left-
wing and biased.Police said they arrested 12 people atNews Coronavirus
I’m better,
brazil
President Bolsonaro has said he
has recovered from Covid-19 and
will resume his travel schedule this
week.
The Brazilian leader, who has
been one of the world’s leading
coronavirus sceptics, has
undergone four Covid-19 tests
during his quarantine.
On Saturday the president, who
has described being stuck at home
inside the Alvorada palace as “just
horrible”, said that his fourth test
put him in the clear. On
Wednesday he had tested positive.
Shortly after disclosing the
negative result Mr Bolsonaro took
his motorcycle out for a spin
around Brasilia, the capital, and
visited a bike shop. On the way out
he greeted supporters, taking
photos and removing his mask to
put on his helmet.
Mr Bolsonaro, 65, had claimed
that his athletic past would protect
him from Covid-19. He has been in
semi-isolation since July 7 after
becoming one of the 2.3 million
Brazilians who have tested positive
for coronavirus. More than 85,
people have died, a total surpassed
by only the United States.
In big cities where caseloads
have dropped isolation measures
have been relaxed. “All-night
parties are back on, people are out
drinking,” a Rio de Janeiro
barman said.