Some 6,000 police officers will be deployed and over 300 checkpoints set up across the country to enforce a government-imposed national lockdown set to begin 5 p.m. Sunday.
Over the past week, police officers issued around 10,000 fines for various coronavirus guideline violations, a majority of which were for failure to wear a mask in a public space. According to a senior police official, "There will be uncompromising enforcement in the Haredi and Arab sectors, as well."
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The official noted the public would be able to take part in demonstrations. "This is a difficult country when it comes to enforcement, but when the protests are organized, we will allow them to be held."
At the time of writing, the police had not demanded Israel Defense Forces send reinforcements as it did during the first two lockdowns.
A senior police officer on Saturday night said preparation ahead of Israel's third lockdown took into consideration lessons learned in the previous lockdowns. The official said the police would provide assistance at some 130 vaccination centers as it handles demonstrations expected to take place ahead of the lockdown.
A source in the Israel Police said they would focus on the problem of domestic violence.
"We will take citizens' financial situation into account. A third lockdown is unlike the first two lockdowns, and this time we will act with restraint and containment. We expect the public's cooperation," the source said, noting there would be greater enforcement of gatherings against guidelines and violations of quarantine.
"The focus on the intercity space is meant to allow for the normal flow of traffic. We will operate roadblocks in the intercity space," the senior officer said.
"It's clear to us that there will be as much traffic on arterial roads as the lockdown allows," he said, which is why the police will work in cooperation with local authorities to enforce the lockdown in municipal spaces. "We'll issue warnings, and those who don't heed them will be punished," he said.
Checkpoints will be sporadically set up on Israel's highways during the day "to avoid causing huge traffic jams as they did in the past and avoid a situation where citizens don't make it to work," the official said.
He noted the police would ramp up enforcement between 6 p.m. and midnight.
"On Sunday, checkpoints will be set up at exits from cities and on intercity roads in the center of the country. More than 300 checkpoints will be set up, which will be deployed during the lockdown, some of which will be random checkpoints," the official said.
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