PM: Lockdown could be extended beyond 3 weeks

The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayid, has landed in Washington DC in advance of the signing of a peace treaty with Israel, to take place In Tuesday at the White House.Bin Zayid is accompanied by senior ministers and other government officials.

Former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina party, has sharply criticized the government's decision to impose a three-week lockdown In the entire country, spanning the High Holiday period as well as the festival of Sukkot."This deals a death blow to hundreds of thousands of small business owners, the self-employed, and the unemployed," he said. "This is a colossal failure of leadership and crisis management. What we need is a clear strategy regarding how to emerge from lockdown," he added.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking at this evening's press conference, insisted that a vaccine "was In the horizon" and that so are faster tests for coronavirus."If we adhere to the regulations, we will defeat this disease," he added.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein insisted that he had not originally wanted to lock down the country, stating that other means were tried, which failed.He added that this time, as opposed to following the previous closure in spring, the government would have an effective exit strategy for emerging from lockdown.

MK Ayelet Shaked of the Yamina party slammed the government for its mishandling of the coronavirus epidemic, leading to the imposition of a three-week national lockdown starting this Friday."This government has failed in its leadership of the country - the greatest failure in history of the state," she said. "Cronyism and petty politics have brought us to this situation. The government must now present a clear exit strategy for coming out of lockdown, as well as a compensation package for the self-employed and small business owners. And the most important thing - I ask everyone to adhere to the regulations, even if they don't agree with them. We have to show mutual responsibility."

MK Moshe Yaalon (Yesh Atid) has offered scathing criticism of PM Netanyahu and his mishandling of the coronavirus crisis, blaming him for leading the country into what could be a disastrous lockdown."Netanyahu is ruining the lives and the livelihoods of the citizens of this country, and ruining the futures of our children," he accused. "He'll be fine, but as for the rest of us - we are paying the price for his decade of failed leadership. We have lost all confidence in his government of chaos and disconnect and his failed policies. And we intend to bring him to a reckoning for what he has done," Yaalon concluded.

The Israel Defense Prize for 2020 was presented to 3 outstanding projects.