April 12, 2020 9:45 am

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu announced that all flights to Israel have been canceled until emergency measures are passed allowing the IDF’s Home Front command to transfer all incoming travelers to supervised isolation facilities, Haaretz reports.

Netanyahu said that Israel-bound planes that are already in the air will be allowed to land, but all traffic will then be halted. The policy will remain in place even after lockdown is lifted.

The prime minister’s decision follows the return of about 70 Israelis who landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport yesterday from New Jersey and were sent to their homes in taxicabs without face masks. Passengers on the flight said that when the plane landed, a Health Ministry representative boarded the plane and instructed them to self-isolate for the next 14 days.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}