Naftali Bennett earlier this year
(Picture: AP)Israel has announced that all foreign nationals would be banned from entering for a further ten days in a bid to stop further spread of Omicron.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the country’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and Health Minister, Nitzan Horowitz, said current rules would run until at least December 22. They had been due to expire on Sunday night.
While the statement did not explicitly mention the travel ban, it is included in the current rules.
They also require all Israelis returning from abroad to self-quarantine until they receive confirmation of a negative coronavirus PCR test result.
Those arriving from high-risk countries must isolate at a state-governed quarantine hotel until they receive a negative PCR.
Ministers said additional restrictions and incentives for vaccination may be imposed in the coming days.
Mr Bennett apologised on Thursday to those who had been unable to come to the country.
“We are also very conscious of the thousands of individuals who had been or are planning family visits, bar mitzvahs, weddings, and more, and for whom the decision was a very serious blow,” Mr Bennett said.
“We are well aware of the pain being caused, and you have my word that we will do all we can to help Jews around the world visit Israel again as soon as possible.”
Israel has identified at least 21 cases of the Omicron variant, first detected in southern Africa.
The country of 9.3 million people, has reported 8,210 deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Most of its population — over 6.3 million people — has received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and more than 4 million Israelis have received a booster.
