Israel Bans Entry To All Foreign Travelers

By COLlive staff

Israel’s coronavirus cabinet voted on Monday to ban all non-Israelis from entering Israel as fear of the new coronavirus variant found in the UK and other countries grows. The ban includes those with special permits to enter Israel, such as relatives attending family events, students, and businesspeople, Yeshiva World News reported.

The cabinet also approved a measure requiring all Israeli citizens returning from abroad to quarantine in state-run hotels. Passengers will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they choose not to get tested for the coronavirus or for 10 days if they test negative on a coronavirus test upon arrival and test negative again nine days later.

The new measures will go into effect beginning on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m.

The Chaim V’Chessed Organization tells YWN that they have learned that passengers who manage, for whatever reason, to board flights to Israel will be returned to their country of origin. “We are already dealing with numerous travelers who arrived today from England and South Africa, and who are being held in Ben Gurion Airport. Authorities intend to deport these passengers later today,” they said.

These same officials tell Chaim V’Chessed that they will refuse entry to any foreigners who manage to arrive on Israel’s shores. “Hence, we emphatically state: FOREIGNERS SHOULD NOT BOARD ANY FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL AT THIS TIME. Failure to heed this warning may result in deportation, with possible fines or sanctions, as well.”

Shmulik Kravitsky of Sky2000 Travel Agency in Crown Heights says the newly imposed ban will disrupt the plans of many people who had plans to fly into Israel in the near future.

“As an agent with plans for many clients who need to get to Israel for many different reasons, I feel like it’s a terrible decision that will affect many lives, and will also affect me financially,” he said.

“On the other hand, I myself have an 84-year-old mother, as well as son and daughter-in-law and large extended family in Israel, so I fully understand and appreciate the decision, that when it comes to pikuach nefesh – saving lives – not to make any calculations, and go ahead and try to save lives, no matter the expense.”

Israeli citizens entering Israel in the next 48 hours will require home quarantine and will be guided towards Corona testing in their neighborhood within 48 hours. Quarantine will last for 10 days after two negative tests and for 14 days with no testing.

Anyone found positive for Covid amongst those returning from abroad – from any country – will require quarantine in a government-run hotel.

The above decision will stay in effect for the next 10 days, with an option for extension.

“I asked to convene the cabinet for one purpose: to close the skies,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‏‏ said at the beginning of the cabinet meeting. “Since the meeting last night, the mutation has spread in many countries and it’s clear to us that we are at the start of a very rapid spread.”

“The viral mass entering Israel must be reduced as much as possible,” the prime minister asserted. “Meanwhile, in England they are checking what this virus is exactly, whether it’s resistant to the vaccine and additional questions.”

“In order to do this, I ask that we repeat what we did during the first wave of the coronavirus – to close the skies as quickly as possible.”