Bennett at meeting (archive)
Bennett at meeting (archive)Defense Ministry Spokesperson

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett will present to the Cabinet Ministers tomorrow his plan to begin the return steps to the routine of the State of Israel, following the closures imposed on civilians as part of dealing with the coronavirus crisis.

Bennett believes that the economy, commerce and the education system - kindergarten through third grade - should be opened immediately this Sunday.

According to the plan, almost 100% of businesses in Israel would open: manufacturing, trading and services, with the exception of leisure, entertainment and large concentrations, with the exception of employees over 65 or workers with background illnesses.

At the same time, Minister Bennett proposes to take a number of additional steps, including strengthening social distancing and the use of precautions, especially those aged 65 and over, and special treatment for those aged 50-6 and paying special attention to nursing homes and elderly centers.

According to Bennett's proposal, coronavirus testing should be accelerated and the time to analyze the results significantly improved.

The Defense Minister also proposed to make targeted closures on severely affected areas at the building or neighborhood level and not to adopt a general closure.

Bennett said that "the economic and medical damage and damage to Israel's national power from a continued closure is incomparably greater than the direct medical risk of the coronavirus, which is manageable. Continued closure at a similar (or slightly reduced) level would cause a serious injury to the State of Israel and its citizens."

He said: "Hundreds of thousands of self-employed people see their businesses destroyed, one million unemployed see the complete loss of income. The closure that was right in the fog of the epidemic is not right now."