‘Israeli’ Ex-health Boss Says Netanyahu Using COVID-19 Threat for Political Gain

By Staff, Sputnik

An opinion piece published by Sputnik stated that Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed new measures in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the occupation entity.

The virus has already claimed the lives of 57 ‘Israelis’ and nearly 9,000 others are still being treated in hospitals across the occupied territories.

Addressing the ‘Israelis’ on Monday evening, Netanyahu imposed a full lockdown starting from Tuesday evening and up until early morning on Friday, saying the police will make sure to enforce the regulations.

But for Yoram Lass, former director general of the Zionist entity’s Health Ministry, Netanyahu's remarks are no more than scare tactics.

"Some 1,200 ‘Israelis’ die on a yearly basis because of pneumonia. Another 1,200 lose their lives due to a chronic lung disease. An additional 2,000 people die because of infectious diseases. The amount of deaths from COVID-19 pales in comparison to these numbers," he explained.

Lass thinks the magnitude of the disease has been blown out of proportion. "Despite the sorrow that death entails, the numbers are not that scary. The Black Plague killed a third of Italians. If the coronavirus was of the same magnitude, millions around the world would have been dead by now. This is not happening".

The professor believes there are two factors that have contributed to the current frenzy over the pandemic.

"COVID-19 is just a diseases with great PR. The eruption of the swine flu in 2009 didn't grab such headlines simply because tools like Facebook were still in their infancy. Now, photos floating around on social media cause hysteria and make governments act, very often, against any common logic".

But there was another reason too - politics. "Before the eruption of the virus, Netanyahu was a dead body. The eruption of COVID-19 played into his hands", said the professor, suggesting that the PM had used the pandemic to postpone his trial for a series of graft probes that include buying positive coverage and receiving gifts from a rich donor.

It was for these reasons, says Lass, that the ‘Israeli’ government started imposing a series of measures in mid-March. Those included the shutting down of all education institutions, public and governmental offices as well as big and small businesses, unless they were able to prove they were essential to the general public.