The Israeli prime minister has tested positive for the coronavirus and is working from home after several meetings with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Naftali Bennett’s office said the prime minister was feeling well and would continue his schedule as planned, including a briefing on the attack on Israeli paramilitary border police officers killed late Sunday. After meeting with Blinken, Bennett rushed to the town of Hadera to meet with authorities to respond to the attack.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that Blinken would follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “including masking and appropriate testing.”
The spread of COVID-19 in Israel is increasing slightly due to the spread of Omicron submarine there, as in many other countries. Bennett and about half of Israel received three vaccines.
And just hours before the test, Bennett fled to the town of Hadera, where gunmen killed two border police officers and shot and wounded four others.
The government says the gunmen were supporters of the militant Islamic State group and IS has claimed responsibility. This is the second deadly attack on an Israeli city in less than a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Authorities are on high alert.
The attack also threatened to cast a shadow over a gathering of foreign ministers in the Negev desert, where Iran’s nuclear deal was expected to be at the top of the agenda. Attendees at the rally, from the United States and four Arab countries, condemned the shooting.
Last Tuesday, a single attacker inspired by the Islamic State group killed four people in a stabbing in southern Israel before being killed by pedestrians.