Israel Closing Border Crossings With Egypt, Jordan to Slow Coronavirus Spread

After shutting its airports to commercial travel earlier in the week, Israel on Wednesday announced that it will close its over-land border crossings with Jordan and Egypt in order to keep variants of the coronavirus from entering the country. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced the closure, which will last from Thursday morning until Sunday.

The Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan will remain open, however.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday during a visit to the southern city of Sderot said that the government will meet on Thursday to extend the country’s lockdown and closure of Ben Gurion Airport, which are both scheduled to end on Sunday.  The health ministry has recommended an additional week of restrictions in an effort to bring down the number of new cases of the virus.