Israel Passes Law Restricting Protests During Lockdown

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel’s parliament on Wednesday passed controversial legislation that will allow the government to drastically restrict public protests during the country’s second coronavirus lockdown.

The Knesset passed the regulations by a vote of 46-38 early Wednesday morning following an all-night session, contentious debates, and multiple delays.  The measure allows the government to declare a state of emergency if virus cases spiral out of control. During this time, the government can ban people from traveling more than 0.6 miles away from their homes to attend a protest and restricts outdoor gatherings to just 20 people or less. 

For months, Israel has seen the largest sustained protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in nearly 10 years. Thousands of Israelis have gathered weekly calling on Netanyahu to resign while on trial for serious corruption charges and accusing him of botching the government’s management of the coronavirus outbreak.

Netanyahu is on trial in three separate corruption cases. He has been charged with fraud, accepting bribes, and breach of trust. He denies all allegations and claims he is the victim of an organized “witch hunt” against him.

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Netanyahu has said the government must clamp down on the protests to stop the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, critics see it as a bid to silence criticism against him.

Initially, Netanyahu’s Likud Party had demanded that the restrictions on protests extend until after the lockdown is lifted. However, this did not make it into the final version of the law.

Earlier this month, Israel entered its second country-wide lockdown in an attempt to get one of the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks under control. Last week, the government tightened restrictions, shuttering schools and hundreds of businesses.

Government leaders originally said the lockdown would be lifted on Oct. 11. Now they say the shutdown is expected to last longer.

Israel has recorded more than 235,000 virus cases since the pandemic began and some 1,500 deaths.