As restrictions tightening a lockdown imposed on Dec. 27 went into effect Thursday at midnight, the Israel Police released a list detailing just how much the public should expect to pay if they are caught in violation of the rules.
According to the Israel Police, anyone caught violating a mandatory quarantine will be fined 5,000 shekels ($1,570). Failure to report an obligation to enter quarantine will set the offender back 3,000 shekels ($940). Refusing a police officer's order to disperse will result in a 1,000 shekel ($315) fine.
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Being in a public place or business that is forbidden from opening or praying in violation of the guidelines will incur a 500-shekel ($160) fine, as will failing to wear a mask outside of an individual's place of residence.
According to Assistant Commissioner Yishai Shalem, who heads the Israel Police's operations department, this time around, "We will use a much heavier hand, and we will enforce [the restrictions] even more forcefully."
Shalem said that "On intercity traffic arteries, checkpoints will be placed in the right places, where we will have an influence and not cause traffic jams. During the day, there will be fewer checkpoints in the center than in the north and south. Between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., there will be many more checkpoints."
"Within the cities, patrols will be carried out on foot and barricades will be set up at entrances and exits, and in exceptional cases, we will enforce them," he said.
While Shalem indicated police would not "be petty" and fine people for straying 100 meters (around 100 yards) further from their home than permitted, he did say that those caught going much farther than the 1,000-meter limit would be fined.
According to Shalem, around 5,000 officers, including riot police, would be deployed to enforce the tightened lockdown.
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