Israel News for 7-27-2020

News Update

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The Health Ministry reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases over the weekend, even though the number of tests administered was much lower than last week. Every twelfth person who was tested turned out to be infected. In the Haredi cities of Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Modi’in Illit and Beitar Illit, every fifth test was positive.

There are currently 35,076 active cases, of which 317 are in serious condition and 104 on ventilators. There have been 473 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

PM Netanyahu has reduced the coronavirus cabinet from 16 ministers to 10. Those removed include Housing and Construction Minister Yaakov Litzman, Education Minister Yoav Galant, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen, Welfare Minister Itzik Shmuli and Tourism Minister Assaf Zamir. According to an official statement, the new cabinet will “concentrate on various aspects of the state’s exit strategy from the health crisis, including addressing issues of employment, economic aid for the small-business sector and the self-employed … and taking any other actions needed to deal with the recession that hit the Israeli economy.”

PM Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for new elections in the fall unless a deal can be reached with Blue and White for the passage of a one-year budget. Blue and White is insisting on a two year budget.

An IDF drone crashed in southern Lebanon due to a technical failure. The IDF said that no information was leaked.

A mosque in a village near Ramallah was set on fire early today and Hebrew writing was spray painted on its walls. Palestinians say a group of “settlers” arrived at the Al-Bir Mosque in the village of Al-Maghir and spray-painted the phrases “Curfew for Arabs and not Jews” and “Land of Israel” in Hebrew on one of the site’s outer walls. The outer areas of the mosque were heavily damaged. Local police are investigating the hate crime.

The number of Jews visiting the Temple Mount has increased dramatically over the past few years, partly due to a change in policing policies. To read more about this, click here.

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