Shalom and good evening, this is TV7 Israel
News broadcast to you from Jerusalem;
And in today’s top stories;
New data revealed a slight slow-down in the
number of newly diagnosed cases, of those
tested for the disease in Israel.
Israel’s Security Agency, Shin Bet, charged
a 50-year-old Israeli citizen with spying
on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted
the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran
continues to use its resources for the purpose
of terror related activities, in spite of
the suffering of the Iranian people during
this health crisis.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases
throughout the state of Israel continues to
rise.
Nevertheless, in data published by the Israeli
Health Ministry, I’m glad to report that
there appears to be a slight slow-down in
the number of newly diagnosed cases, of those
tested for the disease.
As of eight o’clock this morning, 9,404
Israelis are combating the contagion, of whom
147 individuals are in critical condition.
Regrettably, out of the critically ill, 122
Israelis are in need of ventilators, which
is a rise of eight percent since a day prior.
Furthermore, I’m sad to report that there
has been a leap of the number of fatalities,
as twelve individuals succumbed to the disease,
raising the total number of Israeli victims
to 71.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Health Ministry revealed
that it will increase the number of tests
for the corona contagion in retirement homes.
As part of its decision, if a sick person
is found in such an institution, all of the
elderly residents and staff will be immediately
tested.
The Ministry’s decision was made after 16
residents of a retirement home in southern
Israel succumbed to the disease.
In other, yet related, news; Jerusalem’s
High Court of Justice rejected a petition
against the government’ enacted general
lockdown on the predominately ultra-orthodox
city of Bnei Brak.
The court ruled that even though the government’s
announcement that Bnei Brak was a restricted
area was extraordinary and unprecedented,
it aims to save lives and therefore prevails
over any infringement of the other rights
of the city’s residents.
The court further rejected the argument made
by the Bnei Brak municipality, among other
petitioners, that the lockdown was decided
on the grounds of the social and religious
characteristics of the city’s residents.
Meanwhile, since yesterday afternoon, Israel
police – in cooperation with the border
police and military – started implementing
Jerusalem’s decision to have a full lockdown
across the Jewish State, ahead of the Biblical
Holiday of Passover.
"Israeli police are implementing a government
decision to have a full lockdown across the
country and prevent movements of people out
of their houses, this is absolutely necessary.
The first stage, we set up roadblocks across
all the major highways including police officers,
border police and IDF units, they are on patrol
and locking down different areas to prevent
movements from people from city to city."
Per the Israeli cabinet’s instructions,
a nation-wide ban on intercity travel was
enforced since seven o’clock yesterday evening,
and will be in effect until Friday morning.
A second set of stricter restrictions has
taken effect since 3 o’clock earlier this
afternoon, during which the Israeli public
will not be permitted to stray more than 100
meters from their private residence.
The latter will be enforced until tomorrow
morning.
In light of the anticipated general lockdown,
thousands of Israelis reportedly flooded pharmacies
and grocery stores throughout the country,
in a last bid to stock-up on commodities.
"I'm trying to go shopping for some food for
Pesah (Passover), hopefully we'll get there
at some point."
/ "So it's the first time that I'm spending
Hag (Hebrew for 'holiday) by myself, with
my husband and it's a really uneasy feeling
that we have to spend Hag alone but I understand
this is the way the situation is and we're
going to do the best to enjoy the Hag as best
as possible."
It is important to note that the government
has not abandoned Israelis under quarantine
or residents of blockaded cities.
The Israeli military launched a wide-scale
humanitarian operation to distribute aid boxes
throughout the city of Bnei Brak, and other
relevant locations.
The air boxes include food parcels that are
adherent to the Biblical instructions pertaining
to the observance of the Passover holiday,
as is instructed in the book of Exodus, Chapter
12: verses 14 to 18.
Now in other news, Israel’s Security Agency,
Shin Bet, charged a 50-year-old Israeli citizen
with spying on behalf of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
According to the indictment, the suspect was
in contact with a Lebanese national via Facebook
in 2018, after which he met with the latter
once in Denmark and once in France, where
the Lebanese man revealed he was acting on
behalf of Iranian intelligence, which asked
of him to establish contacts with the accused.
Subsequently, the suspect returned to Israel,
yet after failing to operate an encoded device
with which he was supposed to send messages
to Iran, the Israeli man sought to dispose
of the evidence.
The indictment also describes a meeting that
was held two months ago in the Hungarian capital,
Budapest, where the suspect met with two individuals
who introduced themselves as belonging to
Iran’s security apparatus.
Furthermore, the suspect attempted to make
contact with his Iranian handlers last month,
yet apparently failed to do so.
The charges against the alleged Iranian spy
were filed in Israel’s Central District
Court.
In response, the Shin Bet stressed that “this
investigation illustrates once again that
Iran and its proxies are working to recruit
and exploit Israeli citizens for the sake
of Iran’s needs,” while further emphasizing
that the “Shin Bet will continue to act
with resolve to thwart any activity by Iran
and terrorist entities operating on its behalf
against Israel’s national security.”
Meanwhile in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani urged the International Monetary Fund,
commonly known by its acronym IMF, to approve
the Islamic Republic’s request for a 5-billion-dollar
emergency fund, which the regime claims would
assist its battle against the outbreak of
the corona contagion.
In a televised cabinet meeting from the Iranian
capital, Rouhani insisted that the IMF must
“fulfill their duties” considering the
Islamic Republic’s membership at the international
monetary body.
The Iranian President further highlighted
that the IMF should not discriminate when
it grants emergency loans; and went on to
criticize the United States, which reserves
veto power at the IMF, for its sanction regime
against the Islamic Republic, calling it “economic
and medical terrorism.”
Turning to Washington, where U.S. Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo highlighted the fact
that the Islamic Republic of Iran continues
to use its resources for the purpose of terror
related activities, in spite of the suffering
of the Iranian people during this health crisis.
Speaking at a State Department press briefing,
Pompeo noted that the challenges to deprive
the Ayatollah regime from resources used for
their malign activities stemmed from the simple
fact that the previous U.S. Administration,
under President Barack Obama, “gave the
Iranians a whole lot of money.”
“The previous administration gave the Iranians
a whole lot of money, and we have done remarkable
work to deny the regime the resources they
need to continue to carry out their terror
campaign.
You describe a situation in Lebanon, I think,
or perhaps in Syria where Hizballah’s operating.
I can tell you this: Hizballah has fewer dollars
today to engage in nefarious activity than
they did when President Trump took office,
and they will continue to have fewer dollars
tomorrow until they fundamentally get the
Iranian regime to change its model, the model
that says we’re going to use resources – resources
that could right now be going for the Iranian
people to help take care of them when they’re
in a health crisis themself, right – we’re
going to use those resources to take weaponry
into Iraq, to underwrite Hizballah and Lebanon
and threaten Israel, all of the things that
the Iranians have engaged in for so long,
even in this crisis the Iranian regime hasn’t
ceased doing, that’s most unfortunate.”
The top American diplomat further voiced hope
that the Iranian people will get a regime
with a change in outlook.
“We hope that the people of Iran one day
will get a regime with a change in outlook,
a change which says, “No, we want to respect
what the Iranian people truly want.”
And when they do that, that’ll be a fantastic
thing, and we will reduce the threat that
Iran will ever chase a nuclear weapon in the
way that they were on a path toward chasing
under the previous administration.”
