Topline
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has tested positive for Covid-19 and is working from home, his office announced on Monday, a development that comes a day after he met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of a landmark meeting between Israeli and Arab diplomats.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken address the media … [+]
Key Facts
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Bennett is “feeling well” and plans to continue with his planned work schedule from his home.
The statement noted that Bennett will “hold a situation assessment” on the killing of two police officers in the city of Hadera on Sunday by an individual claiming to belong to Islamic State terror group.
Bennett was seen wearing a face mask on Sunday during his visit to Hadera, where he was briefed by local police, but both he and Blinken were maskless during their meeting earlier in the day.
The 50-year-old Prime Minister has received three vaccine doses.
Tangent
After reporting around 100,000 cases a day in January, due to an omicron driven surge, Covid-19 cases in Israel had seen a sharp decline. However, over the past week, cases have begun creeping up once again fueled by the BA.2 omicron subvariant. Israel is now reporting a seven-day average of around 13,000 new infections every day. In January, experts at the Israeli Health Ministry backed a fourth Covid vaccine dose for people over the age of 18.
What To Watch For
Blinken is expected to attend a key summit in Negev, where the Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid will host his counterparts from United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain and Egypt. The summit in Negev takes place in the backdrop of ongoing efforts by Washington to restore a nuclear deal with Iran—a move that is opposed by Israel and several Arab states. On the flipside, the U.S. and its European allies have also expressed some disquiet over the middle eastern nations’ reluctance to join their concerted effort to push back against Moscow following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Further Reading
Israeli PM tests positive for COVID, is working from home (Associated Press)
Israeli PM tests positive for Covid after Blinken talks (AFP)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/03/28/israeli-prime-minister-bennett-tests-positive-for-covid-19/