With the Israeli government enacting a series of emergency measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing accusations that he is exploiting the crisis to entrench himself in power and undermining the country's democratic foundations.
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Amid a wave of sweeping restrictions that have put Israel in near shutdown mode, Netanyahu's measures resulted in his trial being postponed and unprecedented electronic surveillance of Israeli citizens, and a temporary pause of parliament's activities.
The moves, on the heels of the country's third inconclusive election in less than a year and under the shadow of Netanyahu's corruption indictment, sparked leading opposition figure Yair Lapid to tell Israeli citizens that they "no longer live in a democracy."
"There is no judicial branch in Israel. There is no legislative branch in Israel. There is only an unelected government that is headed by a person who lost the election. You can call that by a lot of names, it isn't a democracy," he said in a recorded video.
Amid growing anger toward Netanyahu, police on Thursday blocked two convoys of cars from reaching the Knesset, where activists planned to protest against the government moves.
Police stopped dozens of cars on a major highway as they made their way to Jerusalem, calling it an "illegal protest." They also stopped dozens of cars inside Jerusalem from approaching the Knesset. Many of the cars hoisted black flags alongside Israeli flags and honked in protest. "With dictatorship we die," read one poster.
The new coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries, infected more than 217,000 people worldwide and killed more than 8,700. For most people, it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
Israeli health officials have diagnosed over 400 coronavirus cases, roughly a quarter of them detected in the last 24 hours.
With the numbers quickly rising, authorities have issued a series of tough guidelines that have brought the country to a standstill. People have been instructed to stay home, tens of thousands are in home quarantine and foreigners have been banned from entering the country.
Most controversially, the Israeli government instructed the shadowy Shin Bet security security service to start deploying the agency's phone surveillance technology to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Israel by tracking the moves of the infected.
The surveillance in Israel has sparked widespread criticism from lawmakers and civil rights groups. Opponents planned to file a Supreme Court challenge on Thursday.
Many of the measures are not unique to Israel. In neighboring Jordan, King Abdullah II has shut the country's court system and parliament, as part of an effort to stem the outbreak. Abdullah, who is not elected, appears to have won wide public support for his handling of the crisis.
The British government plans to introduce a bill in Parliament on Thursday that will give authorities stronger powers to respond to the pandemic. Many of these are relatively uncontroversial – like allowing retired doctors to return to work without taking a hit on their pensions. But critics have raised questions about some proposals, including a move to give police and immigration officers "powers to detain people and put them in appropriate isolation facilities if necessary to protect public health."
The emergency legislation is due to have a two-year time limit, but opposition lawmakers want a shorter cut-off date.
In Israel, Netanyahu has thrived in the crisis, delivering stern televised addresses to the nation each evening.
n a televised interview Wednesday, Netanyahu said that during his 13 years as prime minister, he had previously always refused to use surveillance on Israeli citizens. He said there would be "maximum oversight" to protect privacy concerns.
"The last thing I will do is harm democracy," he said.
