‘Israeli’ Minister Quits Over Virus Lockdown Plans

By Staff, Agencies

An ultra-Orthodox minister in the Zionist occupation government resigned Sunday over full lockdown plans to tackle one of the world's highest coronavirus rates that would affect religious practices over Jewish holidays.

Yaakov Litzman stood down as so-called ‘housing’ minister, protesting at measures that he said will prevent Jews from attending synagogues over the upcoming festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

It is a disregard to impose the lockdown over the holidays, said Litzman, a former health minister.

According to an AFP tally, the Zionist entity is second only to Bahrain for the world's highest coronavirus infection rate by population.

The surge in cases prompted the occupation entity’s coronavirus cabinet to announce last week plans for a full lockdown that will go into force ahead of the Jewish holidays, which start on September 18.

The government is due to close or seriously limit presence in synagogues and other places of worship during the lockdown, expected to be imposed for an initial 14 days.

More than 153,000 cases have been registered with 1,108 deaths, out of a population of nine million settlers.

The Zionist government has been blamed for the rapid reopening of businesses, with some arguing insufficient financial measures forced people back to work prematurely.