- The Israeli Knesset overwhelming approved the Israeli-UAE peace treaty during this past Thursday's nine-hour long debate.
- 80 MKs voted in favour of the peace treaty whilst only the 13 MKs from the Arab Joint List voted against the agreement, and 27 MKs were absent from the vote. The peace treaty now needs to be ratified by the UAE as well as the Israeli cabinet before it enters into law.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the plenary twice, at 11am and again at 8pm just before the vote. He said: “Since the start of Zionism, one of our hands has been holding a weapon in defence and the other hand was stretched out to everyone who wants peace. They say peace is made with enemies. False. Peace is made with those who have stopped being enemies. Peace is made with those who desire peace and who no longer remain committed to your annihilation.”
- Speaking again before the vote, Netanyahu added: “Those who truly support peace should back this agreement… We can get peace by enhancing Israel’s force. It will bring Middle Eastern countries closer to us. This force brought many countries around the world closer to us.”
- Since the singing of the Abraham Accords in August, Israel and the UAE have pushed ahead in full speed to agree and start implementing a full normalisation of relations.
Coronavirus Update: Israel began reopening on Sunday
Coronavirus cabinet voted Thursday to ease the lockdown beginning this past Sunday. Among the measures; it is now permitted to leave home with no restrictions on distance and to meet with other people as long as the restrictions on assembly are not violated. Kindergartens and businesses that do not have reception hours reopened, and restaurant customers may pick up their orders themselves. The nature reserves, national parks and beaches also reopened, and people may may pray at the Western Wall in "capsules". The coronavirus cabinet decided that the restrictions would be reinstated if the eased lockdown backfires and morbidity increases. Ben Gurion Airport reopened for outbound flights after having operated in a limited format in recent weeks. The morbidity from the coronavirus has continued to decline. Approximately 1,400 new cases were diagnosed as of last night and the rate of positive tests had gone down to around four percent. The number of patients in serious condition has dropped to 742, the same number as two and a half weeks ago.
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