Netanyahu: We messed up first lockdown exit, so did many others

Netanyahu releases a video in which he says that his government messed up in rolling back the first lockdown, while defending the implementation of a second full lockdown.

“Did we make mistakes in the past? Of course. The opening of event halls was too fast. Maybe the opening of the whole school system,” he says in the shaky and seemingly hastily-edited video.

אנחנו בשעת חירום לאומי. כולנו צריכים להתגייס יחד כדי לנצח את הקורונה. עדכון חשוב ממני אליכם: pic.twitter.com/n2eu9Cl2Xa

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 26, 2020

He also points a finger at experts whom he says counseled for opening the economy; the Knesset for overturning some government decisions; and the media for what he says is contributing to public apathy by portraying the response to the pandemic as overblown.

Netanyahu says Israel has “no choice,” but to go back under lockdown, and urges people to stay away from synagogues over Yom Kippur.

He does not mention the protests against him in the video, and no sounds of protests taking place outside his home are heard.