Benjamin Netanyahu applies Covid shock treatment as election looms
Early 2021 poll is a possibility ifthe prime minister tries to reverse perception of inaction
29 October 2020 - 17:05
Tel Aviv — Benjamin Netanyahu’s reluctance to crack down on surging coronavirus numbers sent Israel’s outbreak spinning out of control. Now he is doing a U-turn, clamping down hard as the prospect of early-2021 elections lurks.
Netanyahu dithered for months as the once-contained caseload mounted. Businesses were having a hard time recovering from a spring lockdown, unemployment was stuck at about 20%, and he did not want to isolate ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods with high morbidity rates because he needs the community’s political support...
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