Israel, West Bank restricted amid surge

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel said Sunday that it has ordered thousands of people into quarantine after a contentious phone surveillance program resumed while Palestinians in the West Bank returned to life under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases in both areas.

Israel’s Health Ministry said Sunday that “many” messages had been sent to Israelis after the renewed involvement of the Shin Bet domestic security agency. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that more than 30,000 people were notified they must enter quarantine since Thursday.

Just weeks ago, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank appeared to have contained outbreaks after imposing strict measures early on during a first wave of infections. But after reporting just a handful of new cases a day in early May, both areas have experienced a steady uptick following an easing of restrictions.

“We are at the height of a new corona offensive. This is a very strong outbreak that is growing and spreading in the world and also here,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet.

“We are in a state of emergency,” he said, adding that Israel would need to further clamp down to rein in the virus.

Israel is now reporting about 1,000 new cases a day, higher than its peak during the previous wave. Late Sunday, the parliament’s coronavirus committee voted to impose new restrictions limiting gatherings in bars, synagogues and function halls to 50 people. It is requiring citizens to wear masks and has urged more stringent social distancing.

With its contact tracing apparatus struggling to keep up with the mounting caseload, Israel last week redeployed the Shin Bet to use its sophisticated phone surveillance technology to track Israelis who have come in contact with infected people and then notify them that they must enter home quarantine. The measure is typically used to monitor suspected Palestinian militants.

The contentious tactic was used when the outbreak first emerged earlier this year, and when civil rights groups challenged it in the country’s Supreme Court, the court threatened to halt its use unless it was put under legislative oversight. The Israeli Knesset has since done so twice using temporary legislation, most recently Wednesday.

While officials have defended the practice as a life-saving measure, civil rights groups attacked it as an assault on privacy rights.

Israeli media reported that of the thousands ordered into home quarantine, many Israelis complained they had been falsely identified as being at risk and that a hotline for them to appeal was not functioning. The government said it was trying to resolve the problem.

Israel has seen more than 29,000 cases and 330 deaths.

In the West Bank, residents have been ordered since Friday to remain at home unless they need to purchase food or medicine. Movement between cities and towns is heavily restricted. The lockdown is expected to last five days.

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas extended a state of emergency in the territory for 30 days. Palestinian authorities fear that if the outbreak spirals out of control it could overwhelm its underresourced health care system.

The West Bank has reported more than 4,000 cases since the outbreak began. About 20 people have died.