A demonstration in Israel against the new general containment which comes into force in the country on Friday for three weeks gathered, Thursday, September 17, about 400 people in Tel Aviv.

“When Netanyahu announced the containment, I thought I would kill myself!” Says Yaël, an Israeli who came to demonstrate in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening against the new containment imposed to deal with a resurgence of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"The economy is falling, people are losing their jobs, are depressed. And for what? For nothing," she breathes.

Friday at 2 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT), the Hebrew state will switch to "seger clali", a three-week "general confinement" which coincides with the start of the Jewish holidays - Rosh Hashanah (new year), Yom Kippur (day of forgiveness) and Sukkout (cabin festivals) - which run until October 11.

>> To read: Covid-19: facing a second wave, Israel announces a three-week reconfinement

For Yaël, 60, an office worker in an architectural firm who lost her job because of the crisis, the buckling of the Israeli economy announced Sunday evening by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not bode well.

The Israelis had generally accepted without complaint the first confinement in March-April, which coincided with the Jewish Passover, but this time the fed up, incomprehension and anger are obvious.

"Europe is gradually returning to normal and we, Israel, are going back," laments Yaël.

The government "has completely failed to deal with the coronavirus"

A country of nine million people, Israel has officially recorded more than 172,000 cases of coronavirus, including 1,163 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.

The Hebrew state is the country with the highest rate of contamination in the past two weeks, according to a global count carried out by AFP.

"The health system raised the red flag last week (...) We have done everything to try to find a balance between health needs and economic needs, but we are witnessing a worrying increase in contamination and the number of seriously ill over the past two days, "said Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised address Thursday evening.

He added that he would not hesitate, if necessary, to toughen the containment measures perceived as a sledgehammer by part of the population.

"This is an aggressive measure, which devastates the economy and which is not useful in stopping the epidemic. The only reason the government is imposing a re-containment is that it is completely lost (... ), that he has completely failed to deal with the coronavirus, "replied the leader of the opposition, Yaïr Lapid, in an interview with AFP.

No Jewish New Year celebrations at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem

Israelis will not be able to travel more than 500 meters from their homes, except to go to the market, to the pharmacy or to work, if it is a profession considered essential.

Exceptions are planned, such as going to a "funeral or a circumcision," the health ministry said Thursday, which also imposed restrictions on places of worship.

Synagogues are generally full on the two days of Rosh Hashanah and especially on Yom Kippur.

But this year, worshipers will be able to pray in synagogues depending on the size of the building.

For the first time in its history, Jerusalem's Great Synagogue will not host Jewish New Year celebrations due to restrictions imposed to tackle the outbreak.

This new confinement should also stop the demonstrations on Saturday evening in front of the official residence of the Prime Minister on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.

Since the summer, thousands of Israelis have gathered there once a week to denounce the government's management, health and economics, of the pandemic.

For Yaniv Segal, a young member of the "Pink Front", an activist group for the "weakest" in an "increasingly cruel" society, re-containment "is not the right solution to treat corona." confinement is political!

It's to stop the demonstrations in Balfour, "he said.

With AFP

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