Health Minister Yuli Edelstein says other countries have been asking Israel to help them obtain coronavirus vaccines.
“Countries are contacting us and asking for Israel’s help in obtaining vaccines,” Edelstein tells Army Radio, and not “exotic countries you haven’t heard of either.”
He laments widespread health violations by Israelis who have traveled to Dubai, accusing them of flouting local regulations. Edelstein says the Emiratis, who recently forged diplomatic ties with Israel, are turning a blind eye so as not to cause a rift with Jerusalem.
The health minister also blasts Yisrael Beytenu MK Eli Avidar, who has announced he won’t get vaccinated.
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Civil Administration officers prepare to demolish a home slated for demolition in the Kumi Ori outpost on April 22, 2020. (Courtesy)
The Knesset advanced a controversial bill on Wednesday which, if passed into law, would legalize dozens of West Bank settlements considered illegal under current Israeli law. It would also formally allow them to be connected to electricity and water supplies.
The so-called “Outposts Law,” initiated by hard-right Yamina MK Bezalel Smotrich, passed 59-39 in its preliminary reading in the main chamber of the Knesset. The bill is set to head to committee before returning to the full Knesset chamber for approval in second and third readings.
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The Health Ministry records another 1,476 virus cases since midnight, with the number of serious COVID-19 cases nearing 400.
It says 2,888 new infections were diagnosed on Tuesday, a two-month high.
Of the 20,255 active cases, 393 are in serious condition, 152 of them on ventilators. Another 168 are in moderate condition, with the rest displaying mild or no symptoms.
The death toll stands at 3,031.
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Dutch prosecutors say a man had cracked US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account in October, despite denials from Washington and the company, but adds that the so-called “ethical hacker” would not face charges.
The man, named as Victor Gevers in Dutch media, reportedly hacked into Trump’s account @realDonaldTrump by guessing his password on October 16, Dutch media reports say.
Both the White House and Twitter have strenuously denied reports that the account had been hacked.
Gevers, 44, disclosed the hack immediately, saying the password he guessed was “maga2020!” referring to the Trump slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“We believe the hacker has actually penetrated Trump’s Twitter account, but has met the criteria that have been developed in case law to go free as an ethical hacker,” the public prosecutor’s office (OM) says.
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America’s top diplomat Mike Pompeo is in quarantine after being exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, the State Department says.
The US secretary of state “has been tested and is negative. In accordance with CDC guidelines, he will be in quarantine. He is being closely monitored by the Department’s medical team,” a State Department spokesperson says, adding that for privacy reasons they could not identify the person he came into contact with.
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pats his head during a joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani after their trilateral meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (Menahem Kahana/Pool via AP)