Israel News for 3-3-2021
News Update
The Health Ministry reported 4,240 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, putting the infection rate at 4.8%. Almost half of those newly infected are under the age of 19. There are currently 717 people hospitalized in serious condition, 224 of whom are on ventilators. There have been 5,797 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic. The government voted to open event halls and restaurants starting next week, and to reopen Ben Gurion airport to up to 3,000 daily returning Israelis.
4,811,712 Israelis — 52% of the total population — have received the first vaccine dose, and 3,503,621 (38%) have also received the second.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday that Israel and the United States have agreed that neither nation will make decisions pertaining to Iran and the Iran nuclear deal without informing the other first. He also said that he expected Israel to establish relations with more Arab countries in 2021.
The IDF will award a special medal to IDF and South Lebanon Army (SLA) soldiers who fought in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon between September 1982 and May 2000. During that period, 559 IDF and 660 SLA soldiers were killed while serving in the buffer zone. Following Israel’s withdrawal, nearly 6,000 SLA soldiers and their families fled to Israel.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion yesterday inaugurated a new youth center in the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in East Jerusalem. The youth center will provide various activities for east Jerusalem’s young population, along with community-based programs expected to include youth movements, leadership workshops, a volunteering center, career development and guidance, and social activism, all intended to strengthen the local Arab community. The center will also provide professional training programs in various fields, with an emphasis on digital literacy.
