Israel News for 12-23-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 3,251 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. There are currently 28,960 active cases of which 503 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 117 on ventilators. There have been 3,136 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
PM Netanyahu and DM Gantz have reportedly agreed to impose another 2 or 3 week lockdown for the entire country to contain the virus. The coronavirus cabinet will meet today to debate and vote on the proposal. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis continue to receive vaccinations.
The 23rd Knesset automatically dissolved at midnight after a new State Budget Law for 2020 was unable to pass. New elections will be held on March 23. It will be Israel’s fourth election in just two years. To read more, click here.
The IDF is adding additional troops to offer more protection to settlements and ensure safety on major roads in the West Bank, in the wake of the brutal murder of Esther Horgan on Sunday. Horgan, a 52 year old mother of 6, was laid to rest on Tuesday. Security forces are searching for her killers.
An Israeli delegation, led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and accompanied by US envoy Jared Kushner, arrived in Morocco yesterday on the first direct flight by a commercial plane from Tel Aviv to Rabat. During the visit, Ben-Shabbat and Kushner met with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and other Moroccan officials. Both sides signed a series of accords on linking up aviation and financial systems, on visas and water management.
