Reuters
“Even though the country’s borders are supposed to be tightly closed,” Haaretz said, a news report claimed that ultra-Orthodox citizens could obtain special permission to enter before the March 23 elections.
Politicians expressed their anger on Saturday and demanded that the screening process be scrutinized for Israelis seeking to travel to the country, after a TV report claimed that the vast majority of Israelis approved to enter the country during the general closure of the border are ultra-Orthodox.
Opposition politicians criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the report, accusing him of only allowing potential right-wing voters to enter the country ahead of the March 23 elections.
Some questioned the veracity of the Channel 12 report on the committee that allows individuals to travel on the small number of available flights, while right-wing and ultra-Orthodox politicians have vehemently denied the allegations.
Channel 12 reported that health officials said they would not object to the arrival of Israelis to participate in the national vote.
A Channel 12 report on Friday stated that about 90% of those who agreed to come to Israel during the lockdown were Haredim, while many other requests were rejected.
The network confirmed that many Haredim were traveling using forged permits, and that some had obtained their permits through relations with radical politicians, but the “Israel Hayom” newspaper, which is seen as close to the prime minister, said on Saturday that it had spoken with many officials. Non-government officials with information on the commission’s work who insisted that the report was far from accurate, and that the Haredi numbers were closer to 50%.
The Channel 12 report confirmed that thousands of Israelis stranded abroad are prevented from entering the country, while the 2,000 passengers approved daily are mostly from the ultra-Orthodox community.
Source: Israeli media
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