Israeli government extends ban limiting public protests

The Israeli government has extended an emergency provision that bars public gatherings, including widespread protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for an additional week. Government ministers approved the measure by a telephone vote, the prime minister’s office said in a statement late on Wednesday. It will remain in place until Tuesday. Meanwhile, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service acknowledged violating lockdown orders by hosting visiting family members at his home, becoming the latest of several senior Israeli officials caught bending the rules. Israel imposed a nationwide lockdown ahead of the Jewish High Holidays last month to rein in the country’s surging coronavirus outbreak. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a law last week allowing the government to declare a special week-long state of emergency to limit participation in assemblies because of the pandemic. The government then declared the state of emergency, limiting all public gatherings to within a kilometre (0.6 miles) of a person’s home. Netanyahu has said the restrictions are driven by safety concerns as the country battles a runaway pandemic, but critics and protesters accuse him of tightening the lockdown to muzzle dissent. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">