Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tested positive for COVID on Monday morning, hours after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, as well as meeting with senior government ministers and security officials following the terror attack in Hadera. Following the meeting with Bennett, Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and then flew to the south of Israel for the historic summit in the Negev, where he met with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. According to a statement from his office, Bennett “feels well and will continue his day’s agenda from home.” Shortly after Bennett’s announcement, a statement from Israel Police said that Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai also tested positive for COVID on Monday. Bennett held a situational assessment [via teleconference] later on Monday morning with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Internal Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and other senior officials. Bennett’s diagnosis comes five days before his scheduled flight to India. Following the announcement, former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu wished Bennett a refuah sheleimah on Twitter. The number of COVID infections in Israel has increased in the past week but according to Prof. Nachman Ash, the Director-General of the Health Ministry, the number of seriously ill patients has not increased, “indicating that the new variant apparently causes the same illness as the Omicron.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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