Night curfew
Night curfewFlash 90

Police broke up large parties across Israel Thursday night, the first night of the 3-night Purim curfew.

The parties and celebrations were held in Jerusalem, Rehovot, Haifa, and Beit Shemesh and saw hundreds of people gathered in violation of the coronavirus guidelines, police said.

A total of 1,300 fines were handed out for the violations, to attendees and party organizers alike.

In addition, four people were arrested for assaulting police officers attempting to enforce the guidelines in Rehovot.

Officials told Galai Tzahal (IDF Radio) that there may have been dozens of parties which were held in violation of the curfew and which escaped the police's notice.

“There was not a city in Israel where we didn’t see violations,” the head of police’s investigations division, Ziv Sagiv, said.

The curfew went into effect at 8:30 PM Thursday night and lasted until 5 AM Friday morning. Identical curfews will be in effect tonight and Saturday night.

The police have deployed 24 checkpoints on major intercity highways. Police Commissioner Superintendent Kobi Shabtai stated Wednesday night that enforcement of public health regulations on Purim will be uncompromising.

During the curfew hours, it is forbidden to leave the place of residence except for the permitted essential purposes, including leaving for permitted work, or leaving up to 1,000 meters from the place of residence. This prohibition will also apply to those staying in guest houses.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein tweeted Friday morning: “I am appealing to the handful of people who can harm us all: Stop. Leave the parties until after the coronavirus. Forego the parties this time. The religious edict of celebration during the Purim holiday must not come at the expense of the public.”

On Thursday, Edelstein told Kan News that if there are mass violations of the Purim curfew then the country would face a lockdown over the Passover holiday next month.