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Netanyahu, Gantz criticized over emergency COVID-19 bill

Many Israelis feel that a bill extending emergency powers to fight a possible second wave of the novel coronavirus goes much too far.
Artists protest, together with small businesses owners and other self-employed, against the government over its handing of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis and the subsequent economic fallout, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2020. The placard in Hebrew reads "Actor = Profession". REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC27FG9K27B1

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz faced the cameras at the Knesset June 1, attempting to reassure Israelis over their "coronavirus law" proposal: A bill to enable the government to extend the country’s state of emergency by 10 months. Both men promised that the proposed law won’t infringe significantly on individual rights.

Netanyahu and Gantz had their work cut out for them. The explanations they provided were designed to calm the public storm that broke out a few days earlier, after news broke of the government’s intention to legislate the new law in order to avoid a second wave of the virus.

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