Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kish sharply attacked the ruling that requires the government to open the skies • The Ministry of Health opposes the move, the Association of Public Health Physicians actually supports: "The current situation has harmed both passengers and public health" • Israir CEO: "Important news for dozens Thousands of employees "
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kish (Likud) today (Wednesday) sharply criticized the High Court's decision to actually open the skies indefinitely starting this weekend. "The High Court takes responsibility for the entry of mutants into Israel, and we will have success," the deputy minister wrote Quiche.
The High Court ruled earlier today that the skies in Israel will be fully open - the daily entry restriction will be lifted as early as this coming weekend, March 20. This means that vaccinated and recovering people can enter the country almost indefinitely, except for tests. Airlines can receive landing permits in Israel In significantly higher numbers than it was supposed to be so far.
Photo: Or Zano
Compared to the Deputy Minister of Health, the Association of Public Health Physicians of the Dvonka Medical Association welcomed the High Court's decision: "It is unfortunate that instead of planning and implementing sustainable solutions at Ben Gurion Airport and government borders issued unreasonable and inapplicable guidelines. "In passengers and also in public health. We hope that in light of the High Court's decision, the government will implement the balanced professional solutions for the intelligent management of border crossings," the union said.
Also in the aviation industry, welcome as expected for the offer.
Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israir: "The current High Court decision fits in well with the sky-opening policy of a wide range of countries that have already announced that Israelis who come to them in late March or early April will be exempt from isolation upon entry provided they perform corona tests or present "Vaccination certificates. This is a very important line for tens of thousands of workers in the tourism and aviation industry, a line that will allow thousands of families to leave laboratories for freedom, after a difficult year of sick leave and a dramatic drop in tourism and aviation activity."
Oz Berlowitz, Deputy CEO of Arkia: "With the decision to remove the destination limit and the number of passengers entering, in fact the opening of the sky - our planes are back in the air and big time.
We will fly to destinations that accept Israelis, including Dubai, Seychelles, Belgrade, Batumi, Tbilisi, Kiev Paris and Frankfurt - some of the destinations on a daily flight basis.
The company is already preparing to return more air crews - pilots and flight attendants who will be
assigned to the many flights as early as next week. "
Ilan Shalev, VP of Vacation Lines: "Vacation Lines welcomes the decision to open safely and after.
The sky with no quantitative limit on the number of passengers.
The company was prepared well in advance for this point in time and allows today to purchase on the company's website and in the company's staffed reservation center to purchase flights and vacation packages to a wide range of leading destinations.
The Greek airline Blue Bird will also return to Ben Gurion Airport and operate a continuous flight schedule for the 2021 season, to Greece Athens and Thessaloniki to the Cretan islands of Rhodes Kos Mykonos as well as to a wide range of other destinations in mainland Europe. "Commitment to a refund in the event that air closures can occur again or a flight is not allowed for Israelis, as well as a minimum cost of $ 20 to purchase a cancellation option within 48-72 hours if any of the passengers depart for Corona on the eve of the flight."
Airlines have applied for approval of about 50 daily flights.
The fear was that the limit of 3,000 entrants a day would allow the Ministry of Transportation to approve only about 15 flights a day. The decision to open the sky means that all airlines operating at Ben Gurion Airport, including all foreign airlines, will be able to return unlimited flights. Next week for destinations that receive Israeli tourists, including: Georgia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Dubai, etc. Arkia and El Al are also expected to publish a particularly busy flight schedule for next week and it is expected that tens of thousands of Israelis will leave the country before Passover and during the holiday.
The American airline United has also already announced a return to full operation on routes to Israel.
United will operate 10 weekly flights to New York and another three weekly flights to San Francisco.
Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Ethiopian, Play Dubai, Etihad and a long line of airlines will announce in the coming days the new flight schedule to Ben Gurion Airport, which will allow Israelis to fly to the dozens of destinations already receiving tourists from Israel.
Immunized and recovered as stated are completely exempt from isolation, but are required to undergo corona tests before returning to Israel and immediately after landing.
Those who are not vaccinated or recovered are required to be tested and of course in isolation for 10 days subject to two tests or in isolation for 14 days without tests.
Currently, there is a long list of countries that accept Israeli tourists.
Among the countries that receive Israeli tourists: Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, USA, Serbia, UAE, Maldives, Mexico and more.
Earlier today, the Bracelets and Electronic Surveillance Law was approved for returnees from abroad who are required to be insulated. The Israeli government will be able to oblige home insulators to wear an electronic bracelet and download a surveillance app.
Since January 2021, restrictions have been placed on leaving and entering Israel due to the discovery of new strains (variants) of the corona virus for which there is concern about the effectiveness of the vaccine.
These restrictions have undergone many incarnations.
According to President Hayut, the court held that the restrictions constitute a violation of the core right to enter and leave Israel and other rights that are at the core of the fabric of democratic life.
The court further noted that the lengthy and continuous period of time in which the restrictions imposed apply without sufficient time for the citizens to organize and without clarifying the date on which they will be removed in full;
And the proximity to Election Day intensifies the violation of civil rights.
The court noted that the restrictions were set without the government having any data on the number of citizens abroad and seeking to return to Israel; that no explanation was given as to why the daily passenger quota was set at 3,000; and that the impression is that it is under an effort to isolate. Concerning the spread of variants, the government preferred to implement a regime of entry quotas into Israel, which is a simpler regime to implement but whose violation of basic rights is much more difficult. This conclusion is sharpened by the fact that Israel is the only democratic state in the world. .
The court concluded by noting that the threat of the corona virus to its various strains is not expected to disappear from our lives in the foreseeable future, despite the success of the vaccination campaign.
Therefore, a balance must be struck between the damage that may be caused due to the intrusion of an unknown strain of the virus and the violation of the basic rights of the citizens of the country and its inhabitants.
This balance should allow a routine of life alongside the virus, while properly managing the risks involved, taking into account, among other things, the reduced risk to the vaccinated and recovering population, while giving appropriate weight to the outgoing or incoming Israeli citizen who is a resident of the country.
Justice Amit noted that already on the day the government decided to close the gates of Ben Gurion Airport "from today to tomorrow" it was clear that closing the sky could not be a long-term solution, nor a short-term solution, and an immediate solution to the cardinal problem of isolating those entering Israel. Judge Handel stressed that the restrictions do not stand the test of proportionality in the narrow sense, given the fact that relevant data were not in the eyes of decision makers, and further stressed that until the regulations expire, this restriction should be interpreted as lightly as possible.
Participated in the preparation of the article: Avi Cohen
