LONG LOCKDOWN LOOMS, PARLIAMENT OKS PROTEST BAN

Israel’s second lockdown could last for much longer than a month, the prime minister has warned, as parliament approved a controversial ban on mass protests against the government in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. “I have to tell you honestly, it won’t be less than a month, and it might take much longer,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in an online broadcast this week, dashing hopes that schools and businesses will be allowed to reopen shortly. Israel imposed its second nationwide lockdown last month to tackle a rapidly growing infection rate that has seen up to 8,000 people catch the virus per day. It had been hoped that the restrictions, some of the toughest in the developed world, would last for only three weeks. Meanwhile, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, has passed a law designed to help slow the spread of the disease by prohibiting public gatherings of more than 20 people. In effect, the law will ban the mass protests that have been taking place outside Netanyahu’s residence each weekend, frequently drawing thousands of demonstrators. The Daily Telegraph