Israeli political wrangles will worsen COVID-19 impact

Significance

Coronavirus policy has been hampered by intense infighting in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, undermining public support for him. The country is still seeing around 2,000 new cases daily, but the virus reproduction rate has fallen to an estimated 0.63.

Impacts

• Even with a phased exit, the second lockdown will boost unemployment and may cause many small and medium-sized businesses to fail.
• Until a vaccine is available, further lockdowns and related measures are likely to be necessary.
• Deteriorating public trust, especially among the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) minority, threatens the effectiveness of future measures.
• The lack of a permanent police commissioner means deputies will tread cautiously with Netanyahu’s government over lockdown enforcement.