Israel to Reimpose COVID ‘Green Pass’ as Delta Variant Hits

The audience wearing protective face masks watches on opening night at the Khan Theater during a performance where all guests were required to show proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The audience wearing protective face masks watches on opening night at the Khan Theater during a performance where all guests were required to show proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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Israel to Reimpose COVID ‘Green Pass’ as Delta Variant Hits

The audience wearing protective face masks watches on opening night at the Khan Theater during a performance where all guests were required to show proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The audience wearing protective face masks watches on opening night at the Khan Theater during a performance where all guests were required to show proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Israel announced plans on Thursday to allow only people who are deemed immune to COVID-19 or have recently tested negative to enter some public spaces such as restaurants, gyms and synagogues after a surge in coronavirus cases.

The government had removed most coronavirus restrictions after a rapid vaccination drive that pushed down infections and deaths.

The easing of restrictions included dropping a “Green Pass” program that had allowed only people who had been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 to enter some public spaces.

But some measures have already been reinstated, including wearing protective masks indoors and tighter entry requirements for incoming travelers, because of the rapid spread of the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.

In a further tightening of measures, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said the Green Pass program would be back in force from July 29, pending government approval.

“The (Green Pass) will apply to cultural and sporting events, gyms, restaurants and dining halls, conferences, tourist attractions and houses of worship,” Bennett’s office said in a statement after a meeting of his “coronavirus cabinet.”

Entrance to events with more than 100 attendees will be allowed only for “the vaccinated, recovered and those with a negative test result who are aged 12 and over.”

Under what Bennett calls a policy of “soft suppression,” his government wants Israelis to learn to live with the virus — involving the fewest possible restrictions and avoiding a fourth national lockdown that could do further harm to the economy.

Over 56 percent of Israel’s 9.3 million population is fully vaccinated, and serious cases have remained lower than during previous waves of infection.



Trump’s Ukraine Envoy Says World Must Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran

Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
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Trump’s Ukraine Envoy Says World Must Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran

Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)

The world must return to a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris on Saturday.

Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to wreck Iran's economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.

"These pressures are not just kinetic, just not military force, but they must be economic and diplomatic as well", Retired Lieutenant-General Kellogg, who is set to serve as Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told the audience at Paris-based Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

He said there was an opportunity "to change Iran for the better" but that this opportunity would not last forever.

"We must exploit the weakness we now see. The hope is there, so must too be the action."

He has previously spoken at NCRI events, most recently in November, but his presence in Paris, even if in a personal capacity, suggests the group has the ear of the new US administration.

Kellogg postponed a trip to European capitals earlier this month until after Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

It was unclear whether he would use his trip to Paris to meet French officials to discuss Ukraine. The French presidency, foreign ministry, Trump's transition team did not immediately respond for comment.

Incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also spoken at NCRI events in the past. The group has repeatedly called for the fall of the existing Iranian authorities, although it is unclear how much support it has within Iran.

Speaking at the start of the event at Auvers-sur-Oise, the group's headquarters on the outskirts of Paris, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi said the regional balance of power had shifted against Iran's leadership with the all of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the "crushing blow" suffered by its most important ally Hezbollah in its war with Israel.

"It is time for Western governments to abandon past policies and stand with the Iranian people this time," she said.

The NCRI, the political arm of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has held frequent rallies in France.