Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tests positive for COVID-19

The premier is feeling good and will continue his work from home, according to his office.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem on March 7, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem on March 7, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, his office said in a statement. He is feeling well and will continue with his work from home, according to the statement.

Bennett met on Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who attended meetings that day with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and foreign ministers from Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

If Blinken tests positive, then he will need to stay in Israel for the next several days to a week.

Bennett also met with top security personnel on Sunday evening after a terrorist attack in Hadera claimed the lives of two Israelis and wounded 10 others. That meeting was held together with the public security minister, the inspector general of the Israel Police, the director of the ISA, the deputy public security minister, the commander of the Israel Police Coast District, the commander of the Border Police, the head of the Israel Police Operations Division and additional officials.

Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai also tested positive for the virus on Monday.

Bennett had been scheduled to hold a second security assessment today. His office said he will carry that out virtually.

He was also supposed to travel to India. That trip is likely to be canceled.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished Bennett a speedy recovery.

“Health comes before anything else,” he said.

“Will I have the opportunity on Rosh Hashanah to have a quiet Rosh Hashanah? Our enemies don’t rest,” Yechiel Leiter told JNS.
“Those who act against Israel will have no foothold in the region,” stated Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
“I’m an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, so antisemitism is why I’m here in the first place,” the mother told JNS. “To see it out in full effect in the daylight is awful.”
Ambassador Tom Barrack clarified his comments regarding Israeli control of the strategic plateau after drawing rebukes from Jerusalem and Capitol Hill.