Health official: In 2 weeks of peace with UAE more died than in 70 years of war

A top health official has condemned Israeli policy on flights to and from the United Arab Emirates in recent months, following the normalization agreement between the countries, Channel 13 reports.

Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the Health Ministry’s public health department, is said to have told hospital chiefs that “In two weeks of peace [with the UAE] more people died than in 70 years of war.”

Israel and the UAE were never at war, and Channel 13 notes her comment may have been made half-jokingly, but has legs to stand on: The network says that from the beginning of December, 906 Israelis who returned from the UAE were diagnosed with coronavirus, leading to a total of 4,050 cases, including many cases of the more infectious UK variant.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis. (Courtesy)