Mid-vote, health minister yanks bid to turn Eilat, Dead Sea into tourist islands
MKs accuse Edelstein of holding residents hostage after he withdraws bill due to their insistence on giving special status to additional areas
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Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Monday pulled a bill that would have turned the Red Sea resort of Eilat and the Dead Sea hotels into “tourist islands,” exempt from some coronavirus restrictions.
Edelstein yanked the legislation while voting was still underway after lawmakers rejected an amendment he had supported that would have prevented additional tourist sites from being given the special status in the future.
As a result of the move, hotels in Eilat and the Dead Sea will be barred from reopening, despite government promises. However, Haaretz reported that coalition lawmakers are still working to promote a compromise that will be advanced in the coming days.
The bill would have allowed hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions to reopen after months of closure during the country’s second lockdown.
Both coalition and opposition lawmakers criticized Edelstein over the move.
United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Asher said that Edelstein was “refusing to recognize the Knesset’s authority to legislate” and had turned the city of Eilat into his hostage.
Asher claimed in a statement that the health minister was afraid of being inundated with requests from other municipal leaders demanding that parts of their towns be labeled “tourist islands.”
Edelstein dismissed the accusations, claiming that it was “populist MKs [who] have taken Eilat hostage in a way that endangers public peace.
“I submitted the bill to save Eilat, and I said in advance that I would not use it to bring about the abandonment of health guidelines,” he said in a statement.
He lamented the decision of the Asher-chaired Constitution Law and Justice Committee, which marked up the bill and removed his proposed clause that capped the legislation’s scope at just Eilat and the Dead Sea.
Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen in a statement expressed dismay at the legislation’s withdrawal and called for sides to show flexibility in order for it to be passed.
Defense Minister and Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz issued a statement saying he had instructed faction chairman MK Eitan Ginzburg to promote another bill aimed at reopening Eilat and the Dead Sea.
The Times of Israel Community.