Netanyahu working on lockdown from DC, his office says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately resumed planning for the upcoming lockdown upon arriving in Washington, his office says.

“Netanyahu held a conference call consultation on preparations for the lockdown with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch, National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat, ‘Magen Yisrael’ director Prof. Ronni Gamzu, Health Ministry Director General Prof. Chezy Levy and other officials,” his office says.

It includes a picture of Netanyahu at his Blair House lodging on the phone (not Zoom) and ostensibly holding said consultations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his hotel room in Washington, DC on September 14, 2020. (Courtesy: Prime Minister’s Office)

The release is likely designed to answer critics who have lambasted him for flying to the US for a ceremony to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties with the UAE and Bahrain, with Israel on the cusp of a major emergency and set to lock down in coming days.

Asked earlier if the ceremony could have been postponed, minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Army Radio, “You can’t postpone peace or war.”