Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing accusations that he is exploiting the coronvirus crisis to entrench himself in power.
Amid a wave of sweeping restrictions that have put Israel in near shutdown mode, Netanyahu has managed to postpone his own pending criminal trial, authorize unprecedented electronic surveillance of Israeli citizens and block parliament from pressing ahead with legislation aimed at pushing him from office.
The Israeli government has announced a series of emergency measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Leading opposition figure Yair Lapid told Israeli citizens that they “no longer live in a democracy.”
“There is no judicial branch in Israel. There is no legislative branch in Israel. There is only an unelected government that is headed by a person who lost the election. You can call that by a lot of names, it isn’t a democracy,” he said in a recorded video, the Associated Press reported.
The new coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries, infected more than 217,000 people worldwide and killed more than 8,700.
Israeli health officials have diagnosed over 400 coronavirus cases by Wednesday.
In response to the growing number, a series of tough guidelines have been issued bringing the country to a standstill.
The Israeli government also instructed the shadowy Shin Bet internal security service to start deploying the agency's phone surveillance technology to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Israel by tracking the moves of the infected.
According to AP, Israeli authorities use phone surveillance in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying it’s an important tool to prevent attacks on Israelis, but critics say it’s also aimed at maintaining tight control.
The surveillance in Israel has sparked widespread criticism from lawmakers and civil rights groups. Opponents planned to file a Supreme Court challenge on Thursday.
