Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett on Monday exploded at the Knesset session, slamming the government's policy which in his opinion allowed coronavirus mutations to enter Israel.
"How in G-d's Name did you allow a freeway to bring all of the world's mutations into Israel?" demanded Bennett, aiming his focus at Transportation Minister Miri Regev (Likud) and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
"We warned about it in real time, we yelled about it in real time, we said you need to take control of Ben Gurion Airport. In real time, not in hindsight. We told you to get control of it, test people before they get on the plane, upon arrival in Israel."
According to him, "In Dubai they did that. In Seychelles they did that. In the entire world they did that! And since then another 1,000 have died and you dare to stand here and say, 'Look how great everything is, come learn from us.' What should we learn from you? It's an embarrassment and a shame. You brought in all the mutations; the British mutation and the South African were through you. One thousand are dead because of your failure. Go home."
Earlier this week, the Israeli government decided to close Ben Gurion International Airport to passenger travel for a period of six days, until Sunday, January 31, 2021.
Last month, Bennett criticized Israel's lockdown as politically motivated, claiming that "things didn’t have to be this way. Millions of Israeli citizens are now going into a political lockdown, simply because the Netanyahu government placed political considerations above all else." Under his own plan, Israel would have conducted mass testing in schools, fully reopening the educational system, sports groups, and trainings.